Emilio Lledó Íñigo (

Seville Seville ( ; , ) is the capital and largest city of the Spain, Spanish autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Andalusia and the province of Seville. It is situated on the lower reaches of the Guadalquivir, River Guadalquivir, ...

, 5 November 1927) is a Spanish philosopher. He has been a professor at several universities and is a member of the

Royal Spanish Academy The Royal Spanish Academy (, ; ) is Spain's official royal institution with a mission to ensure the stability of the Spanish language. It is based in Madrid, Spain, and is affiliated with national language academies in 22 other Hispanophon ...

Career

He took his bachelor's degree at the Instituto de Bachillerato Cervantes and, in 1952, his degree in philosophy at the

Complutense University of Madrid The Complutense University of Madrid (, UCM; ) is a public research university located in Madrid. Founded in Alcalá in 1293 (before relocating to Madrid in 1836), it is one of the oldest operating universities in the world, and one of Spain's ...

. He went to Germany to continue his studies in classical philosophy with

Hans-Georg Gadamer Hans-Georg Gadamer (; ; 11 February 1900 – 13 March 2002) was a German philosopher of the continental tradition, best known for his 1960 on hermeneutics, '' Truth and Method'' (''Wahrheit und Methode''). Life Family and early life Gad ...

, who helped him to finish his doctoral thesis by securing him a scholarship from the

Alexander von Humboldt Foundation The Alexander von Humboldt Foundation () is a foundation that promotes international academic cooperation between scientists and scholars from Germany and abroad. Established by the government of the Federal Republic of Germany, it is funded by t ...

. In 1955, he obtained a position at the Complutense University of Madrid, but returned to Germany after his marriage in 1958 because Gadamer, who was then a Dean of the faculty at the

University of Heidelberg Heidelberg University, officially the Ruprecht Karl University of Heidelberg (; ), is a public university, public research university in Heidelberg, Baden-Württemberg, Germany. Founded in 1386 on instruction of Pope Urban VI, Heidelberg is List ...

, had offered him a position there. In 1962, he again returned to Spain, taking a job as an instructor at the Instituto Núñez de Arce in

Valladolid Valladolid ( ; ) is a Municipalities of Spain, municipality in Spain and the primary seat of government and ''de facto'' capital of the Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Castile and León. It is also the capital of the pr ...

. After two years, he obtained a chair at the

University of La Laguna The University of La Laguna (ULL; Spanish: ''Universidad de La Laguna'') is a public research university situated in San Cristóbal de La Laguna, on the island of Tenerife, Spain. It is the oldest university in the Canary Islands. The univers ...

. Shortly thereafter, in 1967, he moved to the

University of Barcelona The University of Barcelona (official name in ; UB), formerly also known as Central University of Barcelona (), is a public research university located in the city of Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain. It was established in 1450. With 76,000 students, ...

, where he had been given the chair in Philosophy. In 1978, he moved again, to the

National University of Distance Education The National Distance Education University (, UNED) is a distance learning and research university founded in 1972 and is the only university run by the government of Spain. The headquarters is located in Madrid, with campuses in all Spanish aut ...

(UNED), where he remained until his retirement.Proyecto Filosofía: Biography
/ref> Lledó was elected to Seat ''l'' of the

Real Academia Española The Royal Spanish Academy (, ; ) is Spain's official royal institution with a mission to ensure the stability of the Spanish language. It is based in Madrid, Spain, and is affiliated with national language academies in 22 other Hispanopho ...

on 11 November 1993, he took up his seat on 27 November 1994.

Philosophical thought

According to Lledó, the history of philosophy should be understood as a form of "collective memory", embracing mankind's total development, that can be structured through three main elements: #

Classical Greek philosophy Ancient Greek philosophy arose in the 6th century BC. Philosophy was used to make sense of the world using reason. It dealt with a wide variety of subjects, including astronomy, epistemology, mathematics, political philosophy, ethics, metaphysics ...

, with special attention to the

Platonic dialogues Plato ( ; Greek: , ; born BC, died 348/347 BC) was an ancient Greek philosopher of the Classical period who is considered a foundational thinker in Western philosophy and an innovator of the written dialogue and dialectic forms. H ...

and

Aristotelian ethics Aristotle first used the term ''ethics'' to name a field of study developed by his predecessors Socrates and Plato which is devoted to the attempt to provide a rational response to the question of how humans should best live. Aristotle regarded et ...

as well as

Epicureanism Epicureanism is a system of philosophy founded 307 BCE based upon the teachings of Epicurus, an ancient Greek philosopher. Epicurus was an atomist and materialist, following in the steps of Democritus. His materialism led him to religious s ...

. # Attention to language as the principal object of philosophical analysis; which clearly converges in the development of the main currents of post-war European thought. # Elaborating fully a consideration of

temporality In philosophy, temporality refers to the idea of a linear progression of past, present, and future. The term is frequently used, however, in the context of critiques of commonly held ideas of linear time. In social sciences, temporality is studie ...

and writing that will lead to a "philosophy of memory" and a textual anthropology, from

hermeneutic Hermeneutics () is the theory and methodology of interpretation, especially the interpretation of biblical texts, wisdom literature, and philosophical texts. As necessary, hermeneutics may include the art of understanding and communication. ...

roots.

Selected works

* ''Filosofía y Lenguaje'', Ariel (1970) *''La Memoria del Logos'', Taurus (1984) * ''Memoria de la Ética'', Taurus (1994) * ''El Silencio de la Escritura'', Espasa (1998) * ''El Surco del Tiempo: Meditaciones Sobre el Mito Platónico de la Escritura y la Memoria'', Crítica (2000) * ''Elogio de la infelicidad'', Cuatro (2005) *''Ser Quien Eres: Ensayos para una Educación Democrática '', University of Zaragoza (2009) * ''Lenguaje e Historia'', Dykinson (2011) * ''El Epicureísmo'', Taurus (2011) *''La Filosofía, Hoy'', RBA (2012) * ''Los Libros y la Libertad'', RBA (2013) . * ''Palabra y humanidad'', KRK (2015). * ''Pensar es conversar. Diálogo entre filósofos'', with Manuel Cruz, RBA (2015). * ''Fidelidad a Grecia'', Cuatro (2015) .

Honors and awards

* Life member of the

Institute for Advanced Study, Berlin The Institute for Advanced Study in Berlin () is an interdisciplinary institute founded in 1981 in Grunewald (locality), Grunewald, Berlin, Germany, dedicated to research projects in the natural and social sciences. It is modeled after the orig ...

(1988) * Elected to the

(1993) *

Menéndez Pelayo International Prize The Menéndez Pelayo International Prize has been awarded since 1987 by the Menéndez Pelayo International University (UIMP) with the objective of honoring those persons whose literary or scientific work has a humanistic orientation and application, ...

(2004) *

Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany The Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany (, or , BVO) is the highest state decoration, federal decoration of the Federal Republic of Germany. It may be awarded for any field of endeavor. It was created by the first List of president ...

(2005) * Lázaro Carreter Prize, from the Germán Sánchez Ruipérez Foundation (2007) *

Princess of Asturias Award The Princess of Asturias Awards (, ), formerly the Prince of Asturias Awards from 1981 to 2014 (), are a series of annual prizes awarded in Spain by the Princess of Asturias Foundation (previously the Prince of Asturias Foundation) to individuals ...

(2015) * A library has been named after him in Salteras, his parents' hometown.

Notes

References

External links

Fundación Juan March:Emilio Lledó en diálogo con Manuel Cruz

CanalSur Andalucía: Emilio Lledó and Remedios Cervantes (1001 Noches)

El País: Archive of articles by Emilio Lledó
{{DEFAULTSORT:Lledo, Emilio 21st-century Spanish philosophers 20th-century Spanish philosophers Heidelberg University alumni Members of the Royal Spanish Academy 1927 births Living people Recipients of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany Academic staff of Heidelberg University Academic staff of the University of La Laguna Academic staff of the University of Barcelona Academic staff of the National University of Distance Education Academic staff of the Complutense University of Madrid