Carlos Beorlegui

Philosophy, theology, anthropology, sociology – today philosophical thinking is no longer confined to the classical frameworks within which knowledge used to be compartmentalised; it now requires multidisciplinary expertise that can span the space of many of the humanistic sciences, which in the course of their development have converged on purely philosophical problems. Carlos Beorlegui, a native of Navarra, holder of a Ph.D in philosophy and a B.A. in theology, is a full professor at the University of Deusto and chairman of its Philosophy department. Dr. Beorlegui is a guest professor at the Universidad Centroamericana (UCA) of San Salvador (El Salvador) and member of the editorial board of the philosophy journal Pensamiento (Madrid), as well as a member of the Asociación de Hispanismo Filosóficoand of the Sociedad Hispánica de Antropología filosófica (SHAF). In his philosophy we glimpse an astonishing range of sources, the result of his years of study and dedication, and of his broad humanistic background, which enables him to approach philosophical issues through their connections with other, more «empirical» sciences, such as anthropology or sociology – sciences that are directly connected to the question of being and to the praxis of various historical and contemporary socio-cultural issues. Thus we arrive at ethics, at human action, the root base of all of Prof. Beorlegui’s philosophical research. In this field he has been influenced by authors such as those of the Frankfurt School, Zubiri, García Bacca and Lévinas, and by contemporary philosophical thinking such as the liberation philosophy of Latin America (Ellacuría, Dussel, etc.), which he defines as: «thinking that was not distracted by abstractions, but was geared directly toward action and liberation; and possessed sufficient technical quality to take its rightful place alongside the philosophy of the developed countries, or even to step ahead of them, dismounting the oppressive, dogmatic nature of their philosophy’. Ever since his first visit Latin America, he has been fascinated by the region and by the energy of its cultural and philosophical contributions. Much of his writing has been designed to help clarify the development of its philosophy.

Prof. Beorlegui is the author of numerous books and articles, some of which are widely known, including: García Bacca. La audacia de un pensar, Bilbao, University of Deusto, 1988, Lecturas de Antropología filosófica, Bilbao, Desclée de Brouwer, 1988; Antropología filosófica. Nosotros: urdimbre solidaria y responsable, Bilbao, University of Deusto, 1999; La filosofía de J. D. García Bacca en el contexto del exilio republicano, Bilbao, University of Deusto, 2003; Historia del pensamiento filosófico latinoamericano. Una búsqueda incesante de la identidad.