Hector Zagal
Encyclopedia
Hector Jesús Zagal Arreguín is a Mexican
philosopher, essayist and novelist. As a scholar he specializes in Aristotle
.
, Aristotle, gastronomy and literature. He obtained a PhD from the Universidad de Navarra, with a dissertation on Aristotle's epagoge and has since then written several articles and books on Aristotle. He has written on several topics of culture, politics, art history and literature. He gained notoriety in the 2006 presidential election, when he wrote two books on two respective candidates.
He is a member of the Mexican Sistema Nacional de Investigadores (National System of Researchers). He has held postdoctoral positions at the University of Notre Dame
and the Universidad de Navarra, Spain. He has been an invited speaker at conferences held at several universities in Europe, the USA and Latin America. Apart from his research on philosophy, he has continuously carried out work on the diffusion of the humanities and their application to politics, culture and business.
He is the editor of "Tópicos" (Topics), the philosophy magazine of the Universidad Panamericana. He is a member of the editorial boards of the philosophical magazine Themata (Seville, Spain) and the magazine Logo (of the Spanish Association of Studies on Language, Thought and Classical Culture). He was a member of the committees on Human Sciences and Conduct of the National Science and Technology Council, and a member of the board of directors of the magazine Istmo. Currently he is a member of the reviewing commission of the Institute of Philosophical Research at UNAM.
In 1997 he won the "Raúl Rangel Frías" National Essay Prize" as coauthor with Luis Xavier López-Farjeat of an essay on national identity, which was published under the title "Two aesthetic approximations of national identity". For the occasion of Borges' centenary, he compiled the book "Eight essays on Borges".
- He considers himself a social democrat, as stated in his weblog.
- As a writer, he is an open catholic.
Mexico
The United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of...
philosopher, essayist and novelist. As a scholar he specializes in Aristotle
Aristotle
Aristotle was a Greek philosopher and polymath, a student of Plato and teacher of Alexander the Great. His writings cover many subjects, including physics, metaphysics, poetry, theater, music, logic, rhetoric, linguistics, politics, government, ethics, biology, and zoology...
.
Academic career
Zagal has written books on ecology, ethicsEthics
Ethics, also known as moral philosophy, is a branch of philosophy that addresses questions about morality—that is, concepts such as good and evil, right and wrong, virtue and vice, justice and crime, etc.Major branches of ethics include:...
, Aristotle, gastronomy and literature. He obtained a PhD from the Universidad de Navarra, with a dissertation on Aristotle's epagoge and has since then written several articles and books on Aristotle. He has written on several topics of culture, politics, art history and literature. He gained notoriety in the 2006 presidential election, when he wrote two books on two respective candidates.
He is a member of the Mexican Sistema Nacional de Investigadores (National System of Researchers). He has held postdoctoral positions at the University of Notre Dame
University of Notre Dame
The University of Notre Dame du Lac is a Catholic research university located in Notre Dame, an unincorporated community north of the city of South Bend, in St. Joseph County, Indiana, United States...
and the Universidad de Navarra, Spain. He has been an invited speaker at conferences held at several universities in Europe, the USA and Latin America. Apart from his research on philosophy, he has continuously carried out work on the diffusion of the humanities and their application to politics, culture and business.
He is the editor of "Tópicos" (Topics), the philosophy magazine of the Universidad Panamericana. He is a member of the editorial boards of the philosophical magazine Themata (Seville, Spain) and the magazine Logo (of the Spanish Association of Studies on Language, Thought and Classical Culture). He was a member of the committees on Human Sciences and Conduct of the National Science and Technology Council, and a member of the board of directors of the magazine Istmo. Currently he is a member of the reviewing commission of the Institute of Philosophical Research at UNAM.
In 1997 he won the "Raúl Rangel Frías" National Essay Prize" as coauthor with Luis Xavier López-Farjeat of an essay on national identity, which was published under the title "Two aesthetic approximations of national identity". For the occasion of Borges' centenary, he compiled the book "Eight essays on Borges".
Main publications
- La epgaogé en Aristóteles (The epagogé in Aristotle) – doctoral dissertation, a study and reinterpretation of Aristotle's term for inductionInductive reasoningInductive reasoning, also known as induction or inductive logic, is a kind of reasoning that constructs or evaluates propositions that are abstractions of observations. It is commonly construed as a form of reasoning that makes generalizations based on individual instances...
, written in 1991, supervised by Alejandro Llano. - Ética para adolescentes posmodernos (ethic for postmodern teenagers) – a high school textbook for the subject of ethics. Translated to German as Ethik für Junge Menschen (Ethics for young men).
- Horismos, syllogismos, asapheia – a book on the problem of obscurity in Aristotle.
- Gula y cultura (Gloutonry and culture): a gastronomical study of universal literature.
- Andrés Manuel López Obrador, Historia Política y Personal del Jefe de Gobierno del Distrito Federal (Andres Manuel López Obrador, political history of Mexico City's mayor) – written with a then undergraduate student majoring in politology (Alejandro Trelles) the book is a balanced account of López Obrador when he was the most probable candidate to win the presidency, published a year and a half before the election.
- Anatomía del PRI (Anatomy of the Institutional Revolutionary Party) – also written with Trelles, the book analyzes the major problems that the once-official party has to solve in order to survive.
- He is a frequent contributor to the Mexican newspaper ReformaReformaReforma is a Mexican newspaper based in Mexico City. It has 276,700 readers in Mexico City. The paper shares content with other papers in parent newsgroup Grupo Reforma. The cumulative readership of the newsgroup is above 400,000...
.
Affiliations
- Presently affiliated with his alma mater, Universidad Panamericana.
- Philosophy professor in ITAMITAMITAM may refer to:*Instituto Tecnológico Autónomo de México, a private research university located in Mexico City, Mexico*IT asset management*Immunoreceptor tyrosine-based activation motif...
.
Studies
- B.A. in Philosophy Universidad Panamericana
- Master in Philosophy, UNAMUnamUNAM or UNaM may refer to:* National University of Misiones, a National University in Posadas, Argentina*National Autonomous University of Mexico , the large public autonomous university based in Mexico City...
- PhD in Philosophy, Universidad de Navarra
- MBA, IPADEIPADEIPADE, is the business school of Universidad Panamericana, or Pan-American University, a private university in Mexico...
Public office
He worked in the DIF, a dependency of the Mexican federal government during 2007–2008.Intellectual positions
- In newspaper columns, he has made himself known for comparing ancient Greek culture with present situations or popular culture.- He considers himself a social democrat, as stated in his weblog.
- As a writer, he is an open catholic.