Joxe Azurmendi Otaegi (born 19 March 1941) is a Basque writer, philosopher, essayist and poet. He has published numerous articles and books on ethics, politics, the philosophy of

language Language is a structured system of communication. The structure of a language is its grammar and the free components are its vocabulary. Languages are the primary means by which humans communicate, and may be conveyed through a variety of ...

, technique,

Basque literature Although the first instances of coherent Basque phrases and sentences go as far back as the San Millán glosses of around 950, the large-scale damage done by periods of great instability and warfare, such as the clan wars of the Middle Ages, the C ...

and philosophy in general. He is member of '' Jakin'' and the director of ''Jakin irakurgaiak'', a publishing house which has published over 40 books under his management. He also collaborated with the ''Klasikoak'' publishing firm in the Basque translations of various philosophical works and was one of the founders of ''Udako Euskal Unibertsitatea'' (The Basque Summer University). He is currently a Professor of Modern Philosophy and a lecturer at Euskal Herriko Unibertsitatea (The University of the Basque Country). In 2010 he was awarded the title "honorary academic" by

Euskaltzaindia Euskaltzaindia (; often translated Royal Academy of the Basque Language) is the official academic language regulatory institution which watches over the Basque language. It conducts research, seeks to protect the language, and establishes stand ...

(The Basque Language Academy).Joxe Azurmendi
at The Basque Language Academy Azurmendi is an intellectual who studies the problem more than the solution. Azurmendi's essays cover modern European topics in great depth and knowledge. He has incorporated the philosophy and thinking of European thinkers, especially German ones. He often adopts a polemic tone. Joxe Azurmendi is, in the opinion of many, one of the most prolific and erudite thinkers in the Basque Country.

Life

Joxe Azurmendi studied philosophy and theology at The University of the Basque Country, Rome and

Münster Münster (; nds, Mönster) is an independent city (''Kreisfreie Stadt'') in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It is in the northern part of the state and is considered to be the cultural centre of the Westphalia region. It is also a state di ...

. At the beginning of the 1960s he joined the cultural movement which grew up around the magazine '' Jakin'', and was in fact the director of the publication when it was prohibited for the first time by Franco's regime. He has collaborated closely and uninterruptedly with the magazine since its restoration. In that publication he has raised the problems of Basque society in the context of European thinkers. During the early 1970s he focused his attention on disseminating basic literature in the Basque language on subjects which were being hotly debated at the time in the Basque Country: nationhood,

socialism Socialism is a left-wing economic philosophy and movement encompassing a range of economic systems characterized by the dominance of social ownership of the means of production as opposed to private ownership. As a term, it describes th ...

internationalism Internationalism may refer to: * Cosmopolitanism, the view that all human ethnic groups belong to a single community based on a shared morality as opposed to communitarianism, patriotism and nationalism * International Style, a major architectur ...

, etc. In the 1980s he began teaching at The University of the Basque Country, and in 1984 he submitted his thesis on Jose Maria Arizmendiarrieta, the founder of the Mondragon cooperative movement, in which he argued that Arizmendiarrieta's project aimed to unite

individuals An individual is that which exists as a distinct entity. Individuality (or self-hood) is the state or quality of being an individual; particularly (in the case of humans) of being a person unique from other people and possessing one's own nee ...

and society under an organisation which combined both

and French

personalism Personalism is an intellectual stance that emphasizes the importance of human persons. Personalism exists in many different versions, and this makes it somewhat difficult to define as a philosophical and theological movement. Friedrich Schleie ...

. In 1992 he published what was to become his best-known work: ''Espainolak eta euskaldunak'' (The Spanish and the Basques). The work, published by Elkar, was written in response to a text by Sánchez-Albornoz which claimed that "The Basques are the last people to be civilised in Spain; they have a thousand years less civilisation than any other people ... They are rough, simple people who nevertheless consider themselves to be the children of God and the heirs to his glory. But they are really nothing more than un-Romanised Spaniards." Azurmendi's essay refuted and dismantled the stereotypes maintained about the Basques by certain Spanish intellectuals. It was on the threshold of the new millennium, however, that Azurmendi's work reached its height. During the early years of the 21st century he published the trilogy formed by ''Espainiaren arimaz'' (About the soul of Spain) (2006, Elkar), ''Humboldt. Hizkuntza eta pentsamendua'' (Humboldt. Language and Thought) (2007, UEU) and ''Volksgeist. Herri gogoa'' (Volksgeist. National Character) (2008, Elkar). In this trilogy, Joxe Azurmendi reveals some of his most significant thinking.

Philosophical work

His work emerged and developed during a period marked by a crisis of culture, politics and

values In ethics and social sciences, value denotes the degree of importance of something or action, with the aim of determining which actions are best to do or what way is best to live (normative ethics in ethics), or to describe the significance of di ...

. But it was a crisis that he understood not as something negative, but rather something that opened up a whole new range of possibilities. Consequently, all his thinking is centred around the defence of

freedom Freedom is understood as either having the ability to act or change without constraint or to possess the power and resources to fulfill one's purposes unhindered. Freedom is often associated with liberty and autonomy in the sense of "giving one ...

in every field, but especially in relation to

conscience Conscience is a cognitive process that elicits emotion and rational associations based on an individual's moral philosophy or value system. Conscience stands in contrast to elicited emotion or thought due to associations based on immediate sens ...

and thinking. Far from fleeing the crisis, then, his work tries to outline how we can live in this situation. To this end, he adopts a

relativist Relativism is a family of philosophical views which deny claims to objectivity within a particular domain and assert that valuations in that domain are relative to the perspective of an observer or the context in which they are assessed. Ther ...

perspective, and given that

modernity Modernity, a topic in the humanities and social sciences, is both a historical period (the modern era) and the ensemble of particular socio-cultural norms, attitudes and practices that arose in the wake of the Renaissancein the "Age of Reas ...

has left us with no solid base, he fights against the last vestiges of the

dogmatism Dogma is a belief or set of beliefs that is accepted by the members of a group without being questioned or doubted. It may be in the form of an official system of principles or doctrines of a religion, such as Roman Catholicism, Judaism, I ...

towards which our society tends to lean when in crisis: In this sense, for example, he is critical of the modern

state State may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Literature * ''State Magazine'', a monthly magazine published by the U.S. Department of State * ''The State'' (newspaper), a daily newspaper in Columbia, South Carolina, United States * ''Our S ...

, which he accuses of being the new

church Church may refer to: Religion * Church (building), a building for Christian religious activities * Church (congregation), a local congregation of a Christian denomination * Church service, a formalized period of Christian communal worship * Chri ...

seeking to control our consciences.Joxe Azurmendi: ''Barkamena, kondena, tortura'', Donostia: Elkar, 2012, section: "Kondena, barkamendua, hoben kolektiboa". He also criticises the exploitation of

morality Morality () is the differentiation of intentions, decisions and actions between those that are distinguished as proper (right) and those that are improper (wrong). Morality can be a body of standards or principles derived from a code of co ...

, or in other words, how politicians, instead of solving the problems facing them in their various areas or fields, flee instead to moral ground to hide their responsibilities under the cloak of supposedly absolute moral principles: He has also made an important contribution in questioning the canonical interpretations which have been constructed regarding different issues. Of particular interest, due to his erudition and training in Germany, is his interpretation of the German Enlightenment. In this context he deconstructs the apparent opposition between the French Enlightenment and German

Romanticism Romanticism (also known as the Romantic movement or Romantic era) was an artistic, literary, musical, and intellectual movement that originated in Europe towards the end of the 18th century, and in most areas was at its peak in the approximate ...

and proposes a new way of thinking about the different aspects which stem from this opposition. In this way, he defies certain Spanish and French intellectuals (

Alain Finkielkraut Alain Finkielkraut (, ; ; born 30 June 1949) is a French philosopher and public intellectual. He has written books and essays on a wide range of topics, many on the ideas of tradition and identitary nonviolence, including Jewish identity and ant ...

) and argues that

nationalism Nationalism is an idea and movement that holds that the nation should be congruent with the State (polity), state. As a movement, nationalism tends to promote the interests of a particular nation (as in a in-group and out-group, group of peo ...

in fact arose in France (

Montesquieu Charles Louis de Secondat, Baron de La Brède et de Montesquieu (; ; 18 January 168910 February 1755), generally referred to as simply Montesquieu, was a French judge, man of letters, historian, and political philosopher. He is the princi ...

Voltaire François-Marie Arouet (; 21 November 169430 May 1778) was a French Enlightenment writer, historian, and philosopher. Known by his '' nom de plume'' M. de Voltaire (; also ; ), he was famous for his wit, and his criticism of Christianity—e ...

Rousseau Jean-Jacques Rousseau (, ; 28 June 1712 – 2 July 1778) was a Genevan philosopher, writer, and composer. His political philosophy influenced the progress of the Age of Enlightenment throughout Europe, as well as aspects of the French Revolu ...

Ernest Renan Joseph Ernest Renan (; 27 February 18232 October 1892) was a French Orientalist and Semitic scholar, expert of Semitic languages and civilizations, historian of religion, philologist, philosopher, biblical scholar, and critic. He wrote in ...

) and was later reinterpreted by the German thinkers and romantics. By doing this, he questions the way in which authors such as

Goethe Johann Wolfgang von Goethe (28 August 1749 – 22 March 1832) was a German poet, playwright, novelist, scientist, statesman, theatre director, and critic. His works include plays, poetry, literature, and aesthetic criticism, as well as tr ...

Schiller Johann Christoph Friedrich von Schiller (, short: ; 10 November 17599 May 1805) was a German playwright, poet, and philosopher. During the last seventeen years of his life (1788–1805), Schiller developed a productive, if complicated, friends ...

Herder A herder is a pastoral worker responsible for the care and management of a herd or flock of domestic animals, usually on open pasture. It is particularly associated with nomadic or transhumant management of stock, or with common land grazi ...

or Humboldt are viewed as the fathers of

metaphysical Metaphysics is the branch of philosophy that studies the fundamental nature of reality, the first principles of being, identity and change, space and time, causality, necessity, and possibility. It includes questions about the nature of conscio ...

nationalism. In this field, the opposition between

civic nationalism Civic nationalism, also known as liberal nationalism, is a form of nationalism identified by political philosophers who believe in an inclusive form of nationalism that adheres to traditional liberal values of freedom, tolerance, equality, i ...

and

ethnic nationalism Ethnic nationalism, also known as ethnonationalism, is a form of nationalism wherein the nation and nationality are defined in terms of ethnicity, with emphasis on an ethnocentric (and in some cases an ethnocratic) approach to various politi ...

is deconstructed. Thus, Azurmendi criticizes the

essentialist Essentialism is the view that objects have a set of attributes that are necessary to their identity. In early Western thought, Plato's idealism held that all things have such an "essence"—an "idea" or "form". In ''Categories'', Aristotle si ...

basis of Spanish nationalism and French nationalism that operates under these

nation state A nation state is a political unit where the state and nation are congruent. It is a more precise concept than "country", since a country does not need to have a predominant ethnic group. A nation, in the sense of a common ethnicity, may ...

s. Some of the topics Azurmendi deeply develops in his essays first appeared in his poetry of youth. Azurmendi is within the Basque poetry of the 60s which shows the fight against the tradition, the old faith and the dogmatic certainties: But we wish to be free is that my fault? They tried to give us a tree from

Gernika Guernica (, ), official name (reflecting the Basque language) Gernika (), is a town in the province of Biscay, in the Autonomous Community of the Basque Country, Spain. The town of Guernica is one part (along with neighbouring Lumo) of the m ...

, a false blank check, as if the desire to be free were a sin, but despite that, we, quite simply, wish to be free. That is what we want, that is all. This is the latest deception: they have led us to believe before from outside and now from within that it is our responsibility to justify our wish to be free. ''Manifestu atzeratua'' (Belated Manifesto) (1968) He also dedicates a large part of his work to recovering and reinterpreting Basque thinkers, breaking through and dismantling numerous stereotypes. Of particular interest is his research into

Jon Mirande Jon Mirande (11 October 1925 – 28 December 1972) was a Basque writer, poet and translator who lived in Paris. Mirande exerted a great literary influence in the 1970s and 1980s, writing in Basque literary and cultural magazines as well as Breto ...

, Orixe,

Unamuno Miguel de Unamuno y Jugo (29 September 1864 – 31 December 1936) was a Spanish essayist, novelist, poet, playwright, philosopher, professor of Greek and Classics, and later rector at the University of Salamanca. His major philosophical e ...

and others. He is an author who has worked from within and for Basque culture. He claims to have been influenced by Basque authors from the post-war period, for example, in questions of language. In this field, he has researched other authors also, including

Heidegger Martin Heidegger (; ; 26 September 188926 May 1976) was a German philosopher who is best known for contributions to phenomenology, hermeneutics, and existentialism. He is among the most important and influential philosophers of the 20th centur ...

Wittgenstein Ludwig Josef Johann Wittgenstein ( ; ; 26 April 1889 – 29 April 1951) was an Austrian-British philosopher who worked primarily in logic, the philosophy of mathematics, the philosophy of mind, and the philosophy of language. He is consi ...

George Steiner Francis George Steiner, FBA (April 23, 1929 – February 3, 2020) was a Franco-American literary critic, essayist, philosopher, novelist, and educator. He wrote extensively about the relationship between language, literature and society, and the ...

and Humboldt. The fact that his vast oeuvre is all written in the Basque language is clearly consistent with his thinking.

Writing style

In his language Joxe Azurmendi combines an educated register with colloquial expressions, and his prose is fast, incisive, and ironic. Azurmendi's Basque is modern and standard and he demonstrates great knowledge of the language, and richness and variety of expression.

Awards and recognition

* 1976: ''Andima Ibiñagabeitia'' Award for the work: ''Espainolak eta euskaldunak'' * 1978: ''Irun Hiria'' Award for the work: ''Mirande eta kristautasuna'' (Mirande and Christianity). * 1998: ''Irun Hiria'' Award for the work: ''Teknikaren meditazioa'' (Meditations on Technique). * 2005: ''Juan San Martin'' Award for the work: ''Humboldt: Hizkuntza eta pentsamendua'' (Humboldt. Language and Thought). * 2010: ''Euskadi Literatura Saria'' Award, in the essay category, for the work: ''Azken egunak Gandiagarekin'' (The last days with Gandiaga). * 2010: ''Ohorezko euskaltzaina'' by

. * 2012: ''Eusko Ikaskuntza'' Award. * 2012: ''Dabilen Elea'' Award * 2014: Digitization of the entire work of Joxe Azurmendi by The Council of Gipuzkoa * 2015: ''Euskadi Literatura Saria'' Award, in the essay category, for the work: ''Historia, arraza, nazioa'' (History, race, nation). * 2019: ''Joxe Azurmendi Congress'' hosted by Joxe Azurmendi Katedra and University of the Basque Country

Works

The ''Inguma'' database of the Basque scientific community contains over 180 texts written by Azurmendi.

Essays

* ''Hizkuntza, etnia eta marxismoa'' (Language, Ethnics and Marxism) (1971, Euskal Elkargoa) * ''Kolakowski'' ( Kołakowski) (1972, EFA): co-author: Joseba Arregui * ''Kultura proletarioaz'' (About Proletarian Culture) (1973, Jakin EFA) * ''Iraultza sobietarra eta literatura'' (The Soviet Revolution and Literature) (1975, Gero Mensajero) * ''Gizona Abere hutsa da'' (Man is Pure Animal) (1975, EFA) * ''Zer dugu Orixeren kontra?'' (What do we have against Orixe?) (1976, EFA Jakin) * ''Zer dugu Orixeren alde?'' (What do we have in favour of Orixe?) (1977, EFA Jakin) * ''Artea eta gizartea'' (Art and Society) (1978, Haranburu) * ''Errealismo sozialistaz'' (About Socialist Realism) (1978, Haranburu) * ''Mirande eta kristautasuna'' (

Mirande Mirande (; oc, Miranda) is a commune in the Gers department, Occitania, southwestern France. Geography Population Sites of interest * Town Hall * St. Mary's Cathedral * Astarac Square * Clock Tower * Rohan Tower Image:Hôtel de ville d ...

and Christianity) (1978, GAK) * ''Arana Goiriren pentsamendu politikoa'' (The political thinking of Arana Goiri) (1979, Hordago Lur) * ''Nazionalismo Internazionalismo Euskadin'' (Nationalism Internationalism in the Basque Country) (1979, Hordago Lur) * ''PSOE eta euskal abertzaletasuna'' (The Spanish Socialist Party and Basque Nationalism) (1979, Hordago Lur) * ''El hombre cooperativo. Pensamiento de Arizmendiarrieta'' (Cooperative Man. Arizmendiarrieta's thinking) (1984, Lan Kide Aurrezkia) ** Translated into Japanese as ホセ・アスルメンディ: ''アリスメンディアリエタの協同組合哲学'' ( 東大和 : みんけん出版 , 1990) * ''Filosofía personalista y cooperación. Filosofía de Arizmendiarrieta'' (Personalist philosophy and cooperation. Arizmendiarrieta's philosophy) (1984, EHU) * ''Schopenhauer, Nietzsche, Spengler, Miranderen pentsamenduan'' (

Schopenhauer Arthur Schopenhauer ( , ; 22 February 1788 – 21 September 1860) was a German philosopher. He is best known for his 1818 work ''The World as Will and Representation'' (expanded in 1844), which characterizes the phenomenal world as the pr ...

Nietzsche Friedrich Wilhelm Nietzsche (; or ; 15 October 1844 – 25 August 1900) was a German philosopher, prose poet, cultural critic, philologist, and composer whose work has exerted a profound influence on contemporary philosophy. He began his car ...

Spengler Spengler is a German-language occupational surname, literally meaning "metal worker" or " tin knocker". It may refer to: * Alexander Spengler (1827–1901), the first Davos doctor specializing in tuberculosis * Bruno Spengler (born 1983), a Canadia ...

in the thinking of

) (1989, Susa) * ''Miranderen pentsamendua'' ( Mirande's thinking) (1989, Susa) * ''Gizaberearen bakeak eta gerrak'' (War and Peace according to the Human Animal) (1991, Elkar) * ''Espainolak eta euskaldunak'' (The Spanish and the Basques) (1992, Elkar) ** Translated into Spanish as Azurmendi, Joxe: ''Los españoles y los euskaldunes'', Hondarribia: Hiru, 1995. * ''Karlos Santamaria. Ideiak eta ekintzak'' (Karlos Santamaria. Ideas and Action) (1994, The Gipuzkoa Provincial Council (unpublished)) * ''La idea cooperativa: del servicio a la comunidad a su nueva creación'' (The cooperative idea: from the community service toward its new creation) (1996, Gizabidea Fundazioa) * ''Demokratak eta biolentoak'' (The Democrats and the Violent) (1997, Elkar) * ''Teknikaren meditazioa'' (Meditations on Technique) (1998, Kutxa Fundazioa) * ''Oraingo gazte eroak'' (The Mad Youth of Today) (1998, ) * ''El hecho catalán. El hecho portugués'' (The Catalan fact. The Portuguese fact) (1999, Hiru) * ''Euskal Herria krisian'' (The Basque Country in Crisis) (1999, Elkar) * ''La violencia y la búsqueda de nuevos valores'' (The violence and the search for new values) (2001, Hiru) * ''La presencia de Nietzsche en los pensadores vascos Ramiro de Maeztu y Jon Mirande'' (The Nietzsche's presence in the Basque thinkers

Ramiro de Maeztu Ramiro de Maeztu y Whitney (May 4, 1875 – October 29, 1936) was a prolific Spanish essayist, journalist and publicist. His early literary work adscribes him to the Generation of '98. Adept to Nietzschean and Social Darwinist ideas in his youth, ...

and

) (2002, Euskalerriaren Adiskideen Elkartea) * ''Etienne Salaberry. Bere pentsamenduaz (1903–2003)'' (Etienne Salaberry. About his Thinking (1903–2003)) (2003, Egan) * ''Espainiaren arimaz'' (About the soul of Spain) (2006, Elkar) * ''Volksgeist. Herri gogoa'' (

Volksgeist ''Geist'' () is a German noun with a significant degree of importance in German philosophy. Its semantic field corresponds to English ghost, spirit, mind, intellect. Some English translators resort to using "spirit/mind" or "spirit (mind)" to ...

. National Character) (2007, Elkar) * ''Humboldt. Hizkuntza eta pentsamendua'' ( Humboldt. Language and Thought) (2007, UEU) * ''Azken egunak Gandiagarekin'' (The last days with Gandiaga) (2009, Elkar) * ''Bakea gudan'' (Peace in War) (2012, Txalaparta) * ''Barkamena, kondena, tortura'' (Forgiveness, Condemnation, Torture) (2012, Elkar) * ''Karlos Santamariaren pentsamendua'' (Karlos Santamaria's thinking) (2013, Jakin/EHU) * ''Historia, arraza, nazioa'' (History, race, nation) (2014, Elkar) * ''Gizabere kooperatiboaz'' (About the cooperative Human Animal) (2016, Jakin) * ''Hizkuntza, Nazioa, Estatua'' (Language, Nation, State) (2017, Elkar) * ''Beltzak, juduak eta beste euskaldun batzuk'' (Blacks, Jews and other Basques) (2018, Elkar) * ''Pentsamenduaren historia Euskal Herrian'' (History of thought in the Basque Country) (2020, EHU-Jakin)

Poetry

* ''Hitz berdeak'' (Unrefined words) (1971, EFA) * ''XX. mendeko poesia kaierak – Joxe Azurmendi'' (Books of 20th century poetry – Joxe Azurmendi) (2000, Susa), edition of Koldo Izagirre.

Articles in journals

* Articles in the journal ''Jakin'' * Articles in the journal ''Anaitasuna'' * Articles in the journal ''RIEV''

References

Citations

Sources

* Aizpuru, A. (coord.) 2012: ''Euskal Herriko pentsamenduaren gida'', Bilbo: UEU . * Aizpuru, A. 2013: Suak erreko ez balu (I), ''hAUSnART'', 3:102–121. * Altzibar, X. 2011: "XX. mendeko euskal literatura: saiakera" in Mari Jose Olaziregi, ''Euskal literaturaren historia'', Donostia: EIZEI . English edition: Olaziregi, Mari Jose (2012). ''Basque Literary History'', Reno: Center for Basque Studies/University of Nevada. (pbk.). * Arrieta, A. 2013: "Eranskina: Joxe Azurmendiren ''Azken egunak Gandiagarekin''" in ''Arimak eta balioak'', Donostia: Jakin. . * Azurmendi, Haritz 2019: ''Joxe Azurmendiren nazioa Nazionalismo Ikerketen argitan. Abertzaletasun kulturalaren defentsa Euskal Herri garaikidean'', Doctoral thesis, EHU. * del Olmo, K. 2013: "Joxe Azurmendi: Espainolak eta euskaldunak (1992)" in ''Egungo euskal saiakeraren historia'', Bilbo: EHU. . * Olariaga, A. 2019: ''Erlatibismoaren egiak'', Bilbo, UEU. . * ''Hegats. Literatur aldizkaria'' (45). ISSN 1130-2445. * ''Jakin''. 237 (2020) ISSN O211/495X. (Monographic issue on Joxe Azurmendi Congress) * Sudupe, P. 2011: ''50eko Hamarkadako Euskal Literatura II'', Donostia: Utriusque Vasconiae .

External links

*
''The democrats and the violent''
*
''Verspätetes Manifest''
*
Ein Denkmal der Achtung und Liebe. Humboldt über die baskische Landschaft
''RIEV'', 48-1: 125–142, Eusko Ikaskuntza, 2003 ISSN 0212-7016 *
Joxe Azurmendi on the ''jakingunea'' website
*

* The poe
''Prometeo mixerablea''
music by Imanol Ubeda. *

*
''Karlos Santamaria's thinking''.
*
''Schopenhauer, Nietzsche, Spengler, in the thinking of Mirande'' (1989, Susa)
*
Books of 20th century poetry – Joxe Azurmendi (2000, Susa)
*
Joxe Azurmendi on the ''Lapiko Kritikoa'' website.
{{DEFAULTSORT:Azurmendi, Joxe 1941 births 20th-century essayists 20th-century Spanish philosophers 21st-century essayists 21st-century Spanish philosophers Basque philosophers Basque-language poets Basque writers Continental philosophers Cultural critics Irony theorists Literary critics of Basque Living people Moral philosophers Philosophers of culture Philosophers of ethics and morality Philosophers of language Philosophers of literature Philosophers of religion Philosophers of technology Philosophy academics Philosophy writers Political philosophers Scholars of modern philosophy Scholars of nationalism Scholars of Marxism Social commentators Social critics Social philosophers Spanish essayists Spanish ethicists Spanish male non-fiction writers Theorists on Western civilization University of Münster alumni University of the Basque Country alumni University of the Basque Country faculty