Manuel Sacristán
Encyclopedia
Manuel Sacristán was a Spanish
philosopher and writer.
Sacristán, the son of a Francoist collaborator, moved to Barcelona in 1940, thereafter living most of his life in said city. He soon became a member of the Falange Española youth section and studied Law
and Philosophy
in the University of Barcelona
, where he became a member of the cultural section of the Sindicato Español Universitario (the Falangist student union). After a thwarted contact with a clandestine Anarchist group, he and two fellow Falangists were shunned and persecuted by the mainstream SEU officials, resulting in the suicide of one of them and an ultimately ineffectual death warrant on Sacristán.
He subsequently moved to Münster
, in Westphalia
(German Federal Republic
) in order to study Mathematical Logic
and the Philosophy of Science
(1954 – 1956). He became not only an excellent logician, but also a convinced reflective Marxist thinker and communist leader. Again in Barcelona, he taught in the Faculties of Philosophy and Economics of the University of Barcelona
.
His academic career was fraught with difficulties. His political activity led him to the direction of the underground Unified Socialist Party of Catalonia
(PSUC) and he had a leading role in the Catalan
university movement. Due to his Marxist ideas, by which he was very influenced after his stay in Germany and which he introduced to Spain, he was expelled from the University in 1965. In 1966 he participated in the formation of the Barcelona Democratic Students’ Union. It was not until after Franco’s death with the restoration of democracy that he was again admitted. After having had to bear a bitter and humiliating period he was appointed professor of Methodology of Social Sciences at the University of Barcelona. During the academic year 1982-1983 he taught at the National Autonomous University of Mexico
. It was in Mexico that he met Mª Ángeles Lizón, from whom he never parted until his death.
From 1947 he was the creator and driving force behind different periodical publications of a political-cultural nature. Along with Juan Carlos García-Borrón, he ran the magazine Qvadrante, he was editor of the Laye
magazine and Quaderns de Cultura (an underground PSUC journal ). He directed and collaborated in Nous Horitzons, and in 1977 was a founder member of the magazine Materiales. In 1979, in collaboration with Giulia Adinolfi, he set up a new magazine, Mientras Tanto. This aimed to reconsider communist-emancipationist ideology through ecologist
and feminist criticism and within the original Marxist matrix.
Throughout his life he was extremely active as editor and translator for different publishing houses. He translated more than 80 works by several authors: most notably Mario Bunge
, Karl Marx
, Friedrich Engels
, Antonio Gramsci
(who may be regarded as one of his main intellectual references), Theodor W. Adorno
, Karl Korsch
, , Galvano Della Volpe
, , E. Fisher, Labriola, , Agnes Héller
, G. Markus, and E. P. Thompson
. Of special interest among his work as an author are Introducción a la lógica y al análisis formal (Barcelona, Ariel, 1969) and numerous articles and short texts posthumously collected in several volumes of Panfletos y materiales (Barcelona, Icaria, 1983-1985).
In 1975 he began the project of publishing a critical edition in Spanish of the complete works of Marx and Engels in 68 volumes, under the imprint of Editorial Grijalbo. Only twelve of the volumes of this venture appeared, among them Sacristán’s translations of Das Kapital
, bookss 1 and 2, and the Anti-Dühring
. Sacristán also edited and translated Antonio Gramsci’s anthology of texts in the publishing house Siglo XXI. His editorial work was always underpinned by a long and sustained commitment to research and teaching in the philosophical, methodological and critical-cultural fields, and a commitment to intervention in the ideological debate of his time.
His first contacts with the Communist Party of Spain (PCE) took place during his first stay in Germany. He was a clandestine member of the governing bodies of the PSUC and PCE, developing over many years an intense political activity, both at the university and on the cultural front. Since the May 1968 crisis (the events of May in Paris and the Soviet invasion of Czechoslovakia), his differences with the official line of the PCC and PSUC led him to resign from nearly all his posts, though he stayed with the party until the end of the 1970s. It was not until 1979 that he declared publicly that he did not belong to any political party.
In 1978 he joined the Antinuclear Committee of Catalonia and was part of the eco-pacifist and anti-NATO
movement. He was also a major influence in the formation of the Federación de Enseñanza, an educational branch of the Comisiones Obreras trade union
.
Until his death, on 27 August 1985, at the age of 59, Manuel Sacristán carried out an intense intellectual and political struggle, becoming without any doubt one of the most prominent Spanish political philosophers of the twentieth century.
Spain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
philosopher and writer.
Sacristán, the son of a Francoist collaborator, moved to Barcelona in 1940, thereafter living most of his life in said city. He soon became a member of the Falange Española youth section and studied Law
Law
Law is a system of rules and guidelines which are enforced through social institutions to govern behavior, wherever possible. It shapes politics, economics and society in numerous ways and serves as a social mediator of relations between people. Contract law regulates everything from buying a bus...
and Philosophy
Philosophy
Philosophy is the study of general and fundamental problems, such as those connected with existence, knowledge, values, reason, mind, and language. Philosophy is distinguished from other ways of addressing such problems by its critical, generally systematic approach and its reliance on rational...
in the University of Barcelona
University of Barcelona
The University of Barcelona is a public university located in the city of Barcelona, Catalonia in Spain. It is a member of the Coimbra Group, LERU, European University Association, Mediterranean Universities Union, International Research Universities Network and Vives Network...
, where he became a member of the cultural section of the Sindicato Español Universitario (the Falangist student union). After a thwarted contact with a clandestine Anarchist group, he and two fellow Falangists were shunned and persecuted by the mainstream SEU officials, resulting in the suicide of one of them and an ultimately ineffectual death warrant on Sacristán.
He subsequently moved to Münster
Münster
Münster is an independent city in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It is located in the northern part of the state and is considered to be the cultural centre of the Westphalia region. It is also capital of the local government region Münsterland...
, in Westphalia
Westphalia
Westphalia is a region in Germany, centred on the cities of Arnsberg, Bielefeld, Dortmund, Minden and Münster.Westphalia is roughly the region between the rivers Rhine and Weser, located north and south of the Ruhr River. No exact definition of borders can be given, because the name "Westphalia"...
(German Federal Republic
German Federal Republic
"German Federal Republic" was one of the derogatory terms used by the communist German Democratic Republic to refer to the Federal Republic of Germany from the 1950s until 1968, when they started using the propaganda term "BRD"....
) in order to study Mathematical Logic
Mathematical logic
Mathematical logic is a subfield of mathematics with close connections to foundations of mathematics, theoretical computer science and philosophical logic. The field includes both the mathematical study of logic and the applications of formal logic to other areas of mathematics...
and the Philosophy of Science
Philosophy of science
The philosophy of science is concerned with the assumptions, foundations, methods and implications of science. It is also concerned with the use and merit of science and sometimes overlaps metaphysics and epistemology by exploring whether scientific results are actually a study of truth...
(1954 – 1956). He became not only an excellent logician, but also a convinced reflective Marxist thinker and communist leader. Again in Barcelona, he taught in the Faculties of Philosophy and Economics of the University of Barcelona
University of Barcelona
The University of Barcelona is a public university located in the city of Barcelona, Catalonia in Spain. It is a member of the Coimbra Group, LERU, European University Association, Mediterranean Universities Union, International Research Universities Network and Vives Network...
.
His academic career was fraught with difficulties. His political activity led him to the direction of the underground Unified Socialist Party of Catalonia
Unified Socialist Party of Catalonia
The Unified Socialist Party of Catalonia , was formed on July 23, 1936 through the unification of four left-wing groups; the Catalan Federation of Spanish Socialist Workers' Party , the Partit Comunista de Catalunya , the Unió Socialista de Catalunya and the...
(PSUC) and he had a leading role in the Catalan
Catalonia
Catalonia is an autonomous community in northeastern Spain, with the official status of a "nationality" of Spain. Catalonia comprises four provinces: Barcelona, Girona, Lleida, and Tarragona. Its capital and largest city is Barcelona. Catalonia covers an area of 32,114 km² and has an...
university movement. Due to his Marxist ideas, by which he was very influenced after his stay in Germany and which he introduced to Spain, he was expelled from the University in 1965. In 1966 he participated in the formation of the Barcelona Democratic Students’ Union. It was not until after Franco’s death with the restoration of democracy that he was again admitted. After having had to bear a bitter and humiliating period he was appointed professor of Methodology of Social Sciences at the University of Barcelona. During the academic year 1982-1983 he taught at the National Autonomous University of Mexico
National Autonomous University of Mexico
The Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México is a university in Mexico. UNAM was founded on 22 September 1910 by Justo Sierra as a liberal alternative to the Roman Catholic-sponsored Royal and Pontifical University of Mexico The Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México (UNAM) (National Autonomous...
. It was in Mexico that he met Mª Ángeles Lizón, from whom he never parted until his death.
From 1947 he was the creator and driving force behind different periodical publications of a political-cultural nature. Along with Juan Carlos García-Borrón, he ran the magazine Qvadrante, he was editor of the Laye
Laye
Laye is a commune in the Hautes-Alpes department in southeastern France.-Population:-References:*...
magazine and Quaderns de Cultura (an underground PSUC journal ). He directed and collaborated in Nous Horitzons, and in 1977 was a founder member of the magazine Materiales. In 1979, in collaboration with Giulia Adinolfi, he set up a new magazine, Mientras Tanto. This aimed to reconsider communist-emancipationist ideology through ecologist
Political ecology
Political ecology is the study of the relationships between political, economic and social factors with environmental issues and changes. Political ecology differs from apolitical ecological studies by politicizing environmental issues and phenomena....
and feminist criticism and within the original Marxist matrix.
Throughout his life he was extremely active as editor and translator for different publishing houses. He translated more than 80 works by several authors: most notably Mario Bunge
Mario Bunge
Mario Augusto Bunge is an Argentine philosopher and physicist mainly active in Canada.-Biography:Bunge began his studies at the National University of La Plata, graduating with a Ph.D. in physico-mathematical sciences in 1952. He was professor of theoretical physics and philosophy,...
, Karl Marx
Karl Marx
Karl Heinrich Marx was a German philosopher, economist, sociologist, historian, journalist, and revolutionary socialist. His ideas played a significant role in the development of social science and the socialist political movement...
, Friedrich Engels
Friedrich Engels
Friedrich Engels was a German industrialist, social scientist, author, political theorist, philosopher, and father of Marxist theory, alongside Karl Marx. In 1845 he published The Condition of the Working Class in England, based on personal observations and research...
, Antonio Gramsci
Antonio Gramsci
Antonio Gramsci was an Italian writer, politician, political philosopher, and linguist. He was a founding member and onetime leader of the Communist Party of Italy and was imprisoned by Benito Mussolini's Fascist regime...
(who may be regarded as one of his main intellectual references), Theodor W. Adorno
Theodor W. Adorno
Theodor W. Adorno was a German sociologist, philosopher, and musicologist known for his critical theory of society....
, Karl Korsch
Karl Korsch
-Biography:Korsch was born in Tostedt, near Hamburg, to Carl August Korsch, a secretary at the cantonal court and his wife Therese. In 1898 the family moved to Meiningen, Thuringia and Korsch senior attained the position of a managing clerk in a bank...
, , Galvano Della Volpe
Galvano Della Volpe
Galvano Della Volpe was an Italian professor of philosophy and Marxist theorist. In Italy, his work was seen by many as a 'scientific' alternative to the Gramscian Marxism which the PCI had claimed as its guide...
, , E. Fisher, Labriola, , Agnes Héller
Ágnes Heller
Ágnes Heller is a Hungarian philosopher. A prominent Marxist thinker at first, she moved onto a liberal, social-democratic position later in her career...
, G. Markus, and E. P. Thompson
E. P. Thompson
Edward Palmer Thompson was a British historian, writer, socialist and peace campaigner. He is probably best known today for his historical work on the British radical movements in the late 18th and early 19th centuries, in particular The Making of the English Working Class...
. Of special interest among his work as an author are Introducción a la lógica y al análisis formal (Barcelona, Ariel, 1969) and numerous articles and short texts posthumously collected in several volumes of Panfletos y materiales (Barcelona, Icaria, 1983-1985).
In 1975 he began the project of publishing a critical edition in Spanish of the complete works of Marx and Engels in 68 volumes, under the imprint of Editorial Grijalbo. Only twelve of the volumes of this venture appeared, among them Sacristán’s translations of Das Kapital
Das Kapital
Das Kapital, Kritik der politischen Ökonomie , by Karl Marx, is a critical analysis of capitalism as political economy, meant to reveal the economic laws of the capitalist mode of production, and how it was the precursor of the socialist mode of production.- Themes :In Capital: Critique of...
, bookss 1 and 2, and the Anti-Dühring
Anti-Dühring
Herrn Eugen Dührings Umwälzung der Wissenschaft, commonly known as Anti-Dühring, is a book written in German by Friedrich Engels, published in 1878. It had previously been serialised in a periodical. There were two further editions in German in the lifetime of Engels...
. Sacristán also edited and translated Antonio Gramsci’s anthology of texts in the publishing house Siglo XXI. His editorial work was always underpinned by a long and sustained commitment to research and teaching in the philosophical, methodological and critical-cultural fields, and a commitment to intervention in the ideological debate of his time.
His first contacts with the Communist Party of Spain (PCE) took place during his first stay in Germany. He was a clandestine member of the governing bodies of the PSUC and PCE, developing over many years an intense political activity, both at the university and on the cultural front. Since the May 1968 crisis (the events of May in Paris and the Soviet invasion of Czechoslovakia), his differences with the official line of the PCC and PSUC led him to resign from nearly all his posts, though he stayed with the party until the end of the 1970s. It was not until 1979 that he declared publicly that he did not belong to any political party.
In 1978 he joined the Antinuclear Committee of Catalonia and was part of the eco-pacifist and anti-NATO
Anti-NATO
Anti-NATO is the group of the second State Duma deputies united by a desire to prevent the inclusion of Eastern Europe in NATO. Anti-NATO was formed in the State Duma in 1997 and was included 257 members of the State Duma and 47 members of the Federation Council.A majority of Russians were against...
movement. He was also a major influence in the formation of the Federación de Enseñanza, an educational branch of the Comisiones Obreras trade union
Trade union
A trade union, trades union or labor union is an organization of workers that have banded together to achieve common goals such as better working conditions. The trade union, through its leadership, bargains with the employer on behalf of union members and negotiates labour contracts with...
.
Until his death, on 27 August 1985, at the age of 59, Manuel Sacristán carried out an intense intellectual and political struggle, becoming without any doubt one of the most prominent Spanish political philosophers of the twentieth century.