Adolfo Sánchez Vázquez
Adolfo Sánchez Vázquez | |
|---|---|
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| Born | September 17, 1915 Algeciras, Andalucia |
| Died | July 8, 2011 (aged 95) |
| Awards |
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| Academic background | |
| Education | University of Madrid |
| Alma mater | National Autonomous University of Mexico |
| Thesis | Filosofía de la praxis |
| Academic work | |
| Discipline | Philosophy |
| Institutions | National Autonomous University of Mexico |
| Main interests | Marxism |
| Notable works | The Aesthetic Ideas of Marx |
Adolfo Sánchez Vázquez (September 17, 1915 – July 8, 2011)[1] was a Spanish-born Mexican philosopher, writer and professor born in Algeciras, Andalucia.[2]
Biography
[edit]In 1935 Sánchez started studying philosohpy at the University of Madrid, Vázquez emigrated to Mexico in 1939 with thousands of other intellectuals, scientists and artists following the defeat of the Republic in the Spanish Civil War, in which he participated as editor of the central publication of the Juventudes Socialistas Unificadas (JSU) “Ahora”.[3][2]
Sánchez returned to Mexico City in 1943 where he continued his studies in philosophy at the School of Philosophy and Letters of the UNAM, achieving a masters in Literature and Philosophy and a doctorate in Philosophy. He was appointed a full-time professor of philosophy at the National Autonomous University of Mexico in 1959, becoming a professor emeritus of the university in 1985.[4][5]
He embraced Marxism, although an open, renovating, critical and non-dogmatic version of it. His fresh interpretation of Marxism ran parallel to that of the Frankfurt School. In fact, The Philosophy of Praxis was published at around the same time as Herbert Marcuse was writing his One Dimensional Man. In regard to ethics, he opposed normativism.[2]
In 2008 he published Incursiones literarias, a work of literary and artistic criticism.[6]
He died in Mexico City on July 8, 2011, aged 95.[7]
Awards and recognition
[edit]In 1985, he received the 'Universidad Nacional' award by his alma mater the National Autonomous University of Mexico. he was also awarded the 'Gran cruz de Alfonso X, el Sabio' from the Spanish Ministry of Culture, 'Placa de Oro' from the provincial council of Cadiz and the recognition as 'Distinguished teacher of Mexico City' from the Government of Mexico City.[5]
The Universidad Autónoma de Puebla and the Fundación de Investigaciones Marxistas of Madrid founded chairs named after him. A plaque was unveiled in his honor at the Colegio de Ciencias y Humanidades Plantel Sur in Mexico City and a street in Algeciras, Cadiz, has been named after him since 2000.[5]
In 2002 was awarded the National Prize for Arts and Sciences in the History, Social Sciences, and Philosophy category.[5][8]
Sánchez held honorary doctoral degrees from the Universidad Autónoma de Puebla (1985), the University of Cádiz (Spain, 1987), National University of Distance Education (Spain, 1993), Autonomous University of Nuevo León (1994), National Autonomous University of Mexico (1998) and Complutense University of Madrid (2000).[5]
Philosophical works
[edit]- The Aesthetic Ideas of Marx (1965)
- The Philosophy of Praxis (1967)[2]
- Rousseau in Mexico (The Philosophy of Rousseau and the Ideology of Independence) (1969)
- Aesthetics and Marxism (1970)
- Anthology. Texts of Aesthetics and Theory of Art (1972)
- Art and Society: Essays in Marxist Aesthetics (1973)
- From Scientific Socialism to Utopian Socialism (1975).
Other works
[edit]- Recollections and Reflections of an Exile (1997) – Memoirs
- Poetry (2005) – idem
- Incursiones literarias (2008) – Literary and artistic criticism.
See also
[edit]References
[edit]- ^ Fallece el filósofo y escritor Adolfo Sánchez Vázquez Archived July 10, 2011, at the Wayback Machine (in Spanish)
- ^ a b c d Cultura, Secretaría de (2025-07-09). "Adolfo Sánchez Vázquez, filósofo autocrítico y antidogmático". gob.mx (in Spanish). Retrieved 2025-07-13.
- ^ Adolfo Sánchez Vázquez would later write of this position: “Bearing in mind that we are talking about the central publication of the most important youth organisation in the Republican zone, with more than 200,000 members, and the enormous influence that it exerted through these members on the Popular Army, this was an enormous responsibility given my 21 years of age” (A. Sánchez Vázquez, “Vida y filosofía”, Anthropos, Barcelona, no. 52, August 1985, p. 12.)
- ^ Galván Chávez, Ana. "Adolfo Sánchez Vázquez y el marxismo" ("Adolfo Sánchez Vázquez and Marxism"). Retrieved 22 Mar. 2009. "Adolfo Sánchez Vázquez y el marxismo". Archived from the original on 2006-07-21. Retrieved 2006-04-05.
- ^ a b c d e "Histórico galardonados: Adolfo Sánchez Vázquez". Secretaría de Educación Pública (in Spanish). 2016-03-04. Archived from the original on 2016-01-19. Retrieved 2025-07-15.
- ^ "Adolfo Sánchez Vázquez a cien años de su nacimiento". La Jornada (in Spanish). 2015-09-13. Retrieved 2025-07-13.
- ^ "Reconoce la UNAM aportes de Adolfo Sánchez Vázquez". El Economista (in Spanish). 2011-07-09. Retrieved 2025-07-13.
- ^ "Lista oficial de ganadores de los Premios Nacionales 2002". La Jornada (in Spanish). 2002-11-15. Retrieved 2025-07-12.
- Gandler, Stefan: Critical Marxism in Mexico: Adolfo Sánchez Vázquez and Bolívar Echeverría, Leiden/Boston, Brill Academic Press, 2015. 467 pages. ISBN 978-90-04-22428-5.(Historical Materialism Book Series, ISSN 1570-1522; vol. 87.)
- Gandler, Stefan: Peripherer Marxismus. Kritische Theorie in Mexiko. Hamburg, Berlin: Argument-Verlag, 1999. 459 pages, ISBN 3-88619-270-9.
- Gandler, Stefan: Marxismo crítico en México, Adolfo Sánchez Vázquez y Bolívar Echeverría. (Foreword: Michael Löwy.) México, D.F.: Fondo de Cultura Económica / Facultad de Filosofía y Letras UNAM / Universidad Autónoma de Querétaro, 2007, 621 pages, ISBN 978-968-16-8404-4. Reprint: 2008.
External links
[edit]- Filosofia de la praxis (in Spanish)
- Ética (in Spanish)
- Antología de Textos de Estética y Teoria del Arte (in Spanish)
- Biography (in Spanish)
- 1915 births
- 2011 deaths
- 20th-century Spanish philosophers
- Marxist theorists
- Marxist writers
- 20th-century Mexican philosophers
- 21st-century Mexican philosophers
- Mexican male writers
- National Autonomous University of Mexico alumni
- Academic staff of the National Autonomous University of Mexico
- People from Algeciras
- 21st-century Spanish philosophers
- Spanish emigrants to Mexico