Thomas Mann

by Eugenio Trías

Thomas Mann no fue solo un gran escritor, fue también una institución de la cultura europea, defensor de la democracia en un siglo de barbarie y totalitarismo, acérrimo enemigo del hitlerismo y creador de algunos de los personajes más memorables de la literatura occidental. En este ensayo, Eugenio Trías se propone ofrecer una lectura personal de la figura de Mann y un relato razonado de su pasión—que confiesa en las primeras páginas—por la obra y por el hombre. Y así, este texto no solo constituye un estímulo para leer o releer al escritor alemán, sino también para comprender el pensamiento de Trías, considerado hoy el filósofo más importante de la segunda mitad del siglo xx en nuestra lengua.

168 pages, Paperback

Published March 8, 2017

About the author

Trias was born in Barcelona. After obtaining his bachelor's degree in Philosophy at the University of Barcelona in 1964, he continued his studies in Pamplona, Madrid, Bonn and Cologne. Since 1965 he was Assistant Professor and, later, Associate Professor of Philosophy at the University of Barcelona (UB) and the Universitat Autònoma of Barcelona (UAB). In 1972 he stayed, for one year, in Brazil and Argentina, where he offered several courses and lectures. In 1976 he became Assistant Professor of Aesthetics and Composition at the School of Architecture of Barcelona. In 1986 he gained the Chair of Philosophy at this University, where he remained until 1992. In 1992 he became Chair Professor of Philosophy at the Pompeu Fabra University in Barcelona, where he remained as a Professor of History of Ideas until his death, aged 70, in his home city.

He has an encyclopedical conception of philosophy and has spread his ideas in very diverse fields such as ethics, politics, aesthetics, philosophy of religion, philosophy of history, theory of knowledge, and ontology. He has dealt with almost every field where philosophy can be applied. His preferred fields, nevertheless, have been, above all, Philosophy of Arts and Aesthetics, on the one hand, and Philosophy of Religion, on the other. He has always tried to derive his whole thought from his own personal conception of ontology, which is usually called the “Philosophy of Limit”. Many of his books have already become obligatory references in the Spanish written philosophical heritage of the last 60 years. Some of his works such as Treaty on Passion, Beauty and the Sinister, The World's limits or The Age of the Spirit have become classics of the Spanish written philosophical thought of the 20th century.

His work is regarded by the critics as one of two most significant philosophical pillars of the contemporary Spanish thought. Critics have praised his work for his particular style of writing (in which the philosophical thought gets "poetic antennas" with a great literary value). His works have been regarded not only a very important contribution to the Spanish philosophical and cultural heritage, but also an enormous textual production that will remain as one of the most reliable milestones of his generation in the fields of the philosophical literature and of the knowledge-oriented writing.

Reviews

[Esteban Galarza · Rating 3 out of 5]

El libro es un vuelo rasante sobre el espíritu de Thomas Mann. Lo leí para enfocarme en rasgos del autor que estuviesen pasándome por alto y en ese objetivo está muy bien.
Es una lectura agradable e introductoria a los tópicos más fuertes del alemán: su relación con la muerte, sus predecesores (Goethe, Dante), la historia familiar como punto de partida y por qué fue tal autor alemán más importante de la primera mitad del siglo XX (y tal vez, a la fecha, el último gran autor que ha dado Alemania, sin querer ningunear a figuras como Heinchich Böll).
Agradable, aunque es recomendable tener mínimas nociones de quién fue Thomas Mann para poder aprovechar mejor su lectura.

[Joaquín · Rating 5 out of 5]

bellísimo libro e imprescindible en mi opinión si os gusta mucho thomas mann <3

[Sergio]

no-ficcion