On the basis of Th. Adorno's differentiation between philosophy and essay writing, the article questions A. Korn's status as "founder" of Latin American philosophy, given that he understood philosophy as an exercise in writing, without definitive certainties. By pointing to the difference between reality and language, philosophy can inhabit that distance in diverse forms, thus making it possible to inquire into its relation to writing. Against positivism, Korn insists on the figurative character of all metaphysics as a "dialectical poem", thus bringing it close to the essay.