Francisco Romero (1891–1962) was a Latin American philosopher who spearheaded a reaction against positivism.
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Biography
editRomero was born in Seville, Spain, but spent much of his adult life in Latin America, especially Argentina, where he emigrated in 1904.[1][2] He entered the Argentine army in 1910 and retired with the rank of major in 1931.[2] He became a friend of the Argentine philosopher Alejandro Korn, and when he left military service he took over Korn's professorships at the universities of La Plata and Buenos Aires.[2] Due to his strong disapproval of the Peronist government, he resigned his university positions in 1946, not returning until 1955.[2]
Romero began to publish on literary subjects during the First World War.[2] Known as the "dean of Ibero-American philosophers,"[2] he became an influential critic, philosopher, and translator. Romero is interested in examining the space of human culture, especially with respect to creativity and social responsibility.[2] A strongly anti-ideological humanist, he argues against Humean rationalism and all deterministic conceptions of the universe.[2] True being is identified by Romero with transcendence, spiritual and moral aspiration, and intentionality.[2] His writing is marked by a balance between philosophical rigor and literary sophistication,[1] and Theory of Man (1952; English translation in 1964) is considered his master work.[2]
Romero was also editor in charge of philosophical publications at the Losada publishing house.[2]
He died in Buenos Aires in 1962.
Selected works
edit- Old and New Concepts of Reality (1932)
- The Problems of Philosophy of Culture (1938)
- Program of a Philosophy (1940)
- Man and Culture (1950, translation of El hombre y la cultura)
- Theory of Man (1964; translation of Teoría del hombre, 1952)
- Historia de la filosofía moderna (1959)
References
editFurther reading
edit- Harris, Marjorie Silliman. Francisco Romero on Problems of Philosophy (1960)
- Lipp, S. Three Argentine Thinkers (1969)