Luis Villoro Toranzo (3 November 1922 – 5 March 2014) was a Spanish– Mexican philosopher, researcher, university professor, diplomat, academic and writer. He published more than ten books between 1950 and 2007. Villoro was born in Barcelona on 3 November 1922 to a Spanish father and a Mexican mother. Between 1983 and 1987, he was a delegate for Mexico in

UNESCO The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO ) is a List of specialized agencies of the United Nations, specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) with the aim of promoting world peace and International secur ...

. He was named an honorary member of the

Academia Mexicana de la Lengua The Academia Mexicana de la Lengua (variously translated as the Mexican Academy of Language, the Mexican Academy of the Language, the Mexican Academy of Letters, or glossed as the Mexican Academy of the Spanish Language; acronym AML) is the cor ...

in 2007. Luis Villoro received the Premio Nacional de Ciencias y Artes in 1986, for his effort in the field of history, social sciences, and philosophy. In 2004 he received an honorary doctorate from the

Universidad Autónoma Metropolitana The Metropolitan Autonomous University ( Spanish: ''Universidad Autónoma Metropolitana'') also known as UAM, is a Mexican public research university. Founded in 1974 with the support of then-President Luis Echeverria Alvarez, the institution a ...

, Villoro died from

respiratory failure Respiratory failure results from inadequate gas exchange by the respiratory system, meaning that the arterial oxygen, carbon dioxide, or both cannot be kept at normal levels. A drop in the oxygen carried in the blood is known as hypoxemia; a r ...

on 5 March 2014 in Mexico City. He was 91 years old.

Thought

The main themes of the philosophy of Luis Villoro are the following:

metaphysical Metaphysics is the branch of philosophy that examines the basic structure of reality. It is traditionally seen as the study of mind-independent features of the world, but some theorists view it as an inquiry into the conceptual framework of h ...

understanding of otherness, the limits and scope of

reason Reason is the capacity of consciously applying logic by drawing valid conclusions from new or existing information, with the aim of seeking the truth. It is associated with such characteristically human activities as philosophy, religion, scien ...

, the link between

knowledge Knowledge is an Declarative knowledge, awareness of facts, a Knowledge by acquaintance, familiarity with individuals and situations, or a Procedural knowledge, practical skill. Knowledge of facts, also called propositional knowledge, is oft ...

and

power Power may refer to: Common meanings * Power (physics), meaning "rate of doing work" ** Engine power, the power put out by an engine ** Electric power, a type of energy * Power (social and political), the ability to influence people or events Math ...

, the search for communion with others, ethical reflection on

injustice Injustice is a quality relating to unfairness or undeserved outcomes. The term may be applied in reference to a particular event or situation, or to a larger status quo. In Western philosophy and jurisprudence, injustice is very commonly—but ...

, the defense of respect for

cultural differences Cultural diversity is the quality of diverse or different cultures, as opposed to Monoculturalism, monoculture. It has a variety of meanings in different contexts, sometimes applying to cultural products like art works in museums or entertainment ...

, and the critical dimension of philosophical thinking. His long intellectual career can be divided into three stages: a first stage of the particular or of the historical philosophy, a second stage of the universal or

theoretical philosophy The modern division of philosophy into theoretical philosophy and practical philosophyImmanuel Kant, ''Lectures on Ethics'', Cambridge University Press, 2001, p. 41 ("On Universal Practical Philosophy"). Original text: Immanuel Kant, ''Kant’s G ...

, and "synthesis" or

practical philosophy Practical philosophy concerns itself mainly with subjects that have applications in life, like the study of values, norms, politics, art, etc. The modern division of philosophy into theoretical philosophy and practical philosophyImmanuel Kant, ...

. Among the topics Villoro studied were

Indigenous American philosophy Indigenous American philosophy is the philosophy of the Indigenous peoples of the Americas. An Indigenous philosopher is an Indigenous American person who practices philosophy and draws upon the history, culture, language, and traditions of the In ...

, the thought of

Ludwig Wittgenstein Ludwig Josef Johann Wittgenstein ( ; ; 26 April 1889 – 29 April 1951) was an Austrian philosopher who worked primarily in logic, the philosophy of mathematics, the philosophy of mind, and the philosophy of language. From 1929 to 1947, Witt ...

and of

René Descartes René Descartes ( , ; ; 31 March 1596 – 11 February 1650) was a French philosopher, scientist, and mathematician, widely considered a seminal figure in the emergence of modern philosophy and Modern science, science. Mathematics was paramou ...

, he also dedicated important texts to reflection about

silence Silence is the absence of ambient hearing, audible sound, the emission of sounds of such low sound intensity, intensity that they do not draw attention to themselves, or the state of having ceased to produce sounds; this latter sense can be exten ...

. He conducted an important study on movements related to native culture in Mexico, what he called "the independence revolution," in line with the

multicultural Multiculturalism is the coexistence of multiple cultures. The word is used in sociology, in political philosophy, and colloquially. In sociology and everyday usage, it is usually a synonym for ''ethnic'' or cultural pluralism in which various e ...

nature of Mexico, and a reflection on the need to think of an expanded democracy following the uprising of the

EZLN The Zapatista Army of National Liberation (, EZLN), often referred to as the Zapatistas (), is a Far-left politics, far-left political and militant group that controls a Rebel Zapatista Autonomous Municipalities, substantial amount of territory ...

in 1994.

Bibliography

* ''Los grandes momentos del indigenismo en México'', México: El Colegio de México, 1950. * ''El proceso ideológico de la revolución de independencia'', México: UNAM, 1953. * ''Páginas filosóficas'', Jalapa: Universidad Veracruzana, 1962. * ''La idea y el ente en la filosofía de Descartes'', México: FCE, 1965. * ''Signos políticos'', México: Grijalbo, 1974. * ''Estudios sobre Husserl'', México: UNAM, 1975. * ''Creer, saber, conocer'', México: Siglo XXI, 1982. * ''El concepto de ideología y otros ensayos'', México: FCE, 1985. * ''El pensamiento moderno. Filosofía del renacimiento'', México: FCE / El Colegio Nacional, 1992. * ''En México, entre libros. Pensadores del siglo XX'', México: FCE, 1995. * ''El poder y el valor. Fundamentos de una ética política'', México: FCE / El Colegio Nacional, 1997. * ''Estado plural, pluralidad de culturas'', México: Paidós / UNAM, 1998. * ''De la libertad a la comunidad'', México: Ariel / ITESM, 2001. * ''Los retos de la sociedad por venir'', México: FCE, 2007.

References

External links

Luis Villoro
at th
Instituto de Investigaciones Filosóficas
1922 births 2014 deaths 20th-century Spanish philosophers 21st-century Spanish philosophers Deaths from respiratory failure Mexican male writers 20th-century Mexican philosophers 21st-century Mexican philosophers People from Barcelona Spanish political philosophers Writers from Barcelona Permanent delegates of Mexico to UNESCO 20th-century Mexican educators 21st-century Mexican educators Spanish emigrants to Mexico {{Philosopher-stub