Monday, November 26, 2007

THE MUSIC´S BACK!


Thank you for that magic moment full of music… The sweetest music I´ve ever heard!

Thursday, November 22, 2007

GOBLE GOBLE!!

This year´s Thanksgiving celebration has just made me recall the time when I went to study in the United States. Ahh, man! I was so young back then hehehe… really! It was my first trip abroad ever and I remember that when I got there I was so depressed, so homesick, that I could not stop myself from crying for a whole week or so. I remember it now because it was precisely on a day like today, at my first Thanksgiving dinner, when I finally pulled myself together.

I think it is great The USA and Canada devote one day each year to getting together with family and friends and reflecting on the wonderful things that one has in life to be grateful for. It is always important to acknowledge it but I think that it is even more important to say it explicitly and share it with the ones we love.

Needless to say that it unavoidably leads you to think of those who don´t have the basics and reflect on the reasons behind inequality and probably more… on the things we can do to change it, even on a personal level.

Thursday, November 15, 2007

WORLD PHILOSOPHY DAY!!

I am now in Monterrey. I came here because this year the main celebration of the World Philosophy Day in México will take place in this city: super!

This is the sixth year in which this worldwide event will be held since it was first instituted by both the International Federation of Philosophical Societies and UNESCO on the day the founder of Western Philosophy Socrates was believed to have been born, nearly 25 centuries ago.

Up to now, it´s been great! Basically because, through these events, Philosophy has got a far greater chance of getting to broader audiences showing its vitality, importance and meanings. That is why I think I could not be happier!

Tuesday, November 13, 2007

MAZATLAN: CONGRESS BALANCE

I just got back home from Mazatlán where, I have to say it, I attended a great Congress of Philosophy. Academic gatherings of this sort, where literally hundred of presentations, symposia and round tables take place, always represent a great challenge, especially as far as logistics is concerned. I think the Organizing Committee did a very good job and they should be proud about it.

As for the contents, I have to confess that I missed a more active presence of political philosophy, especially that one whose topics and reflections have to do with the nation´s most urgent issues, intimate related to the current world crisis: Globalization, its effects and consequences; Democracy and its degradation; Poverty! Just to name a few examples. Really, I did not understand those absences.

I think that Philosophy as such, at least through its best forms, modes and ways, has got a great potential not just before the current crisis but also for the public life and its dimensions and for personal formation at large. Undoubtedly, this is something that still remains pending but I see some lights on the horizon.

Finally, as soon as I got home, I called my mother up. She asked me if I had got a good trip and all and I started telling her what I have just written. I could not really finish the first sentence when my mother interrupted me and said: “I mean, personally”. Ahh! You mean… hehehe… Let´s say your son is still the luckiest single guy in town!, I said to her. I guess she did not like the answer…

Monday, November 05, 2007

MEXICO: PHILOSOPHY NOW!


I am in Mazatlán now. I came here for the National Congress of Philosophy. This Congress is the most important event for the Mexican philosophical community, largely because not only it congregates literally hundreds of its members but also counts with the participation of distinguished scholars of different disciplines from all over the country and overseas. In this edition, Jürgen Habermas is without any doubt the most noted guest.

As usual, as it has been the case whenever I have got the opportunity to meet any of the big guys, my encounter with Habermas was a complete disaster but so irrelevant at the same time that I would rather not talk about it. What it did turn out to be completely anecdotal was the fact that his remarks at the inauguration of the event were totally unintelligible: he, the theorist of communicative action. Somebody said that this is what happens when you don´t know German. The thing is his speech was in English!

Anyway, to be honest I am really happy. I am just looking forward to finding out what the current status of philosophy in this country is: would it live in the Temple of Artemis yet or it has already been brought down to the earth, like the real founder of the western philosophy Socrates once did, according to Cicero.