Ramón Xirau Subías (, ; 20 January 1924 – 26 July 2017) was a Spanish-born Mexican poet, philosopher and literary critic.
In 1939, as the

Spanish Civil War The Spanish Civil War () was a military conflict fought from 1936 to 1939 between the Republican faction (Spanish Civil War), Republicans and the Nationalist faction (Spanish Civil War), Nationalists. Republicans were loyal to the Left-wing p ...

was coming to an end, Xirau emigrated to Mexico where he obtained Mexican citizenship in 1955. He obtained a

Master's Degree A master's degree (from Latin ) is a postgraduate academic degree awarded by universities or colleges upon completion of a course of study demonstrating mastery or a high-order overview of a specific field of study or area of professional prac ...

philosophy Philosophy ('love of wisdom' in Ancient Greek) is a systematic study of general and fundamental questions concerning topics like existence, reason, knowledge, Value (ethics and social sciences), value, mind, and language. It is a rational an ...

at the

UNAM The National Autonomous University of Mexico (, UNAM) is a public research university in Mexico. It has several campuses in Mexico City, and many others in various locations across Mexico, as well as a presence in nine countries. It also has 34 ...

and an honorary doctorate from the Universidad de las Américas. He was a research faculty member of the UNAM y and the National System of Researchers. At the UNAM he taught at the Faculty of Philosophy and Literature and did research at the Institute of Philosophy Research. He was a member of the Colegio Nacional since 1973. Xirau received the

Legion of Honour The National Order of the Legion of Honour ( ), formerly the Imperial Order of the Legion of Honour (), is the highest and most prestigious French national order of merit, both military and Civil society, civil. Currently consisting of five cl ...

from France and the

Isabel la Católica Isabella I (; 22 April 1451 – 26 November 1504), also called Isabella the Catholic (Spanish: ''Isabel la Católica''), was Queen of Castile and León from 1474 until her death in 1504. She was also Queen of Aragon from 1479 until her deat ...

from Spain awards as well as the

Creu de Sant Jordi The Creu de Sant Jordi (, in English language, English 'St George's Cross') is one of the highest civil distinctions awarded in Catalonia (Spain), surpassed only in protocol by the Gold Medal of the Generalitat of Catalonia, Gold Medal of the G ...

from the Generalitat of

Catalonia Catalonia is an autonomous community of Spain, designated as a ''nationalities and regions of Spain, nationality'' by its Statute of Autonomy of Catalonia of 2006, Statute of Autonomy. Most of its territory (except the Val d'Aran) is situate ...

for his works in essay and academics in Spanish and Catalan literature. He also received the Elías Sourasky and the Premio Universidad Nacional awards at the UNAM. Professor Xirau is mostly known in the English speaking world as the co-author of ''The Nature of Man'' along with

Erich Fromm Erich Seligmann Fromm (; ; March 23, 1900 – March 18, 1980) was a German-American social psychologist, psychoanalyst, sociologist, humanistic philosopher, and democratic socialist. He was a German Jew who fled the Nazi regime and set ...

(Macmillan 1968, ).

Other selected works

* ''Palabra y Silencio'', Siglo XXI (1968) * ''Tiempo Vivido: Acerca de Estar'', Siglo XXI (1985) * ''Entre la Poesía y el Conocimiento: Antología de Ensayos Críticos Sobre Poetas y Poesía Iberoamericanos'', Fondo de Cultura Económica (2004) * ''Introducción a la Historia de la Filsofía'', UNAM (2009) * ''Genio y Figura de Sor Juana Inés de la Cruz'' (Tercera edición),El Colegio Nacional (2019)

References

1924 births 2017 deaths Philosophers from Catalonia 21st-century Spanish philosophers 20th-century Spanish philosophers 20th-century Mexican philosophers 21st-century Mexican philosophers Poets from Catalonia Spanish poets Mexican male poets Members of El Colegio Nacional (Mexico) Spanish literary critics Mexican people of Catalan descent Academic staff of the National Autonomous University of Mexico Writers from Barcelona Spanish emigrants to Mexico {{Spain-philosopher-stub