The Suspension of Seriousness: On the Phenomenology of Jorge Portilla

by Carlos Alberto Sánchez

First in-depth analysis of this important Mexican philosophers work.
The Suspension of Seriousness engages the Mexican philosopher Jorge Portilla (19191963), taking note of Portillas philosophical methodology, insights, and contributions to our understanding of value, being, and subjectivity. Portilla lived a short, troubled life and never held a teaching appointment, but his works, though few in number, were nevertheless philosophically penetrating. He is a legendary character in the Mexican popular imagination of the 1940s and 50s, but little has been written about him or his philosophy. His posthumously published Fenomenologa del relajo is a phenomenological analysis of what Portilla calls relajo or the state we assume when we do not want to do what is seriously being asked of uswhat is demanded of us. It is, Portilla says, the suspension of seriousness. Carlos Alberto Snchez uses Portillas Fenomenologa del relajo as a point of departure to consider the dangers both of our uncritical adherence to values as well as our urge to reject values altogether. He argues that Portilla provides a framework in which to situate the modern condition, ourselves, and our future. The first authorized English translation of Portillas Fenomenologa del relajo is included.

Genres: Philosophy

227 pages, Hardcover

First published December 1, 2012

Reviews

[Neal Tognazzini · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book is written by a friend of a friend, and it contains a translation from Spanish of an essay by the Mexican philosopher Jorge Portilla, which is about the concept of “relajo”, translated here as a suspension of seriousness. I’ve been thinking a lot lately about what it means to take oneself or others seriously, so I decided to tackle this book. The Portilla essay itself is really interesting, and I’ll definitely revisit it. The commentary is much less my cup of tea, couched as it is in the dense and not-often-illuminating vocabulary of 20th century Continental philosophy. But I’m intrigued by the concept of relajo, and I’m glad to have read through the book. I’ll have to follow it up with some more reading of Mexican existentialism.