Julian Marias

Julián Marías was a Spanish philosopher associated with the Generation of '36 movement. He was a pupil of the Spanish philosopher José Ortega y Gasset and member of the Madrid School. He wrote on a wide variety of subjects during his long career, such as metaphysics, anthropology, culture, history, politics, religion and literature. He was also a prolific essayist and critic, and a frequent contributor to newspapers and magazines. He taught at several universities in Spain and the United States, and was elected to the Real Academia Española in 1964. He received numerous awards and honors for his intellectual achievements, such as the Prince of Asturias Award in 1996. Marías was born in the city of Valladolid on June 17, 1914. He moved to Madrid with his family at the age of five. He studied philosophy at the Complutense University of Madrid, graduating in 1936. He was influenced by the ideas of Ortega y Gasset, Xavier Zubiri, José Gaos and Manuel García Morente, among others. During the Spanish Civil War, he sided with the Republicans and worked as a propagandist. After the war, he was briefly imprisoned and banned from teaching by the Franco regime. His doctoral thesis was rejected by the university for being critical of Francoism. He continued his philosophical work and published his History of Philosophy in 1941, which became a classic reference in Spanish-speaking countries. He also wrote books on Miguel de Unamuno, San Anselmo, Kierkegaard, Kant and Hegel. In 1948, he co-founded the Instituto de Humanidades with Ortega y Gasset, which became a center of cultural and intellectual activity in Madrid. He also started to travel abroad and lecture at various institutions in Europe and America. He taught at Harvard University, Yale University, Wellesley College, the University of Oklahoma and UCLA, among others. He became an admirer of American culture and democracy, and wrote several books on the United States. Marías was married to Dolores Franco Manera, the sister of filmmaker Jesús Franco. They had four sons: Julián, Miguel, Fernando and Javier Marías Franco. Javier became a renowned novelist and member of the Real Academia Española as well. Marías was a devoted father and husband, and often wrote about his family life in his essays. Marías was a prolific writer until his death. He published more than 80 books and hundreds of articles on various topics. Some of his most notable works include The Structure of Society (1955), Metaphysical Anthropology (1958), Introduction to Philosophy (1960), The Idea of Europe (1963), Spain as a Problem (1969), The Meaning of Christianity (1972), The Woman of the Twentieth Century (1980), Spain: An Intelligible Reason (1985), Brief Treatise on Illusion (1984), Map of Personal World (1993) and My Life So Far (2002). He also wrote biographies of Ortega y Gasset, Cervantes and Velázquez. Marías died in Madrid on December 15, 2005 from heart failure. He was buried at the Cementerio de la Almudena. He is widely regarded as one of the most important Spanish philosophers of the 20th century and a major figure in Hispanic culture.