Eugenio Trías Sagnier facts for kids

Eugenio Trías in March 2008 in México City

Eugenio Trías Sagnier (born August 31, 1942 – died February 10, 2013) was a very important Spanish philosopher. People often compared his ideas to those of Ortega y Gasset, another famous Spanish thinker.

Life Story of Eugenio Trías

Eugenio Trías was born in Barcelona, Spain. He studied philosophy at the University of Barcelona, finishing in 1964. After that, he continued his studies in other cities like Pamplona, Madrid, Bonn, and Cologne.

From 1965, he started working as a philosophy professor. He taught at the University of Barcelona and the Universitat Autònoma of Barcelona. Later, in 1976, he became a professor of aesthetics (the study of beauty) at the School of Architecture in Barcelona. He stayed there until 1992.

In 1992, he became a full professor of philosophy at the Pompeu Fabra University in Barcelona. He taught the History of Ideas there until he passed away at age 70 in his home city.

Trías wrote more than 35 books. Many of his books were published multiple times in Spain and other countries. Experts believe his work is one of the most important in modern Spanish philosophy. His first book, The philosophy and its shadow, came out in 1969. People called it "the philosophy of a new generation."

What Eugenio Trías Thought About

Eugenio Trías saw philosophy as a huge field that covers many topics. He explored ideas in:

• Ethics (how we should live)
• Politics (how societies are governed)
• Aesthetics (the study of beauty and art)
• Philosophy of Religion (ideas about faith and spirituality)
• Philosophy of History (the meaning of historical events)
• Theory of Knowledge (how we know things)
• Ontology (the study of what exists)

A key part of his philosophy was called the "philosophy of Limit." This idea shaped much of his work.

Over time, Trías focused on different main topics in his philosophical books:

• The hidden parts of philosophical ideas.
• Understanding the reasons behind things that seem irrational.
• The role of artists in society.
• How the Sinister (dark or unsettling things) relates to beauty.
• Seeing Passionate love as a source of intelligence.
• The problems and changes in Modernity (the modern era).
• Humans living on a "border" or "limit" of existence.
• Religious experiences.
• The connection between beauty and the sacred (holy).
• A new way of thinking about ethics, based on limits.
• How philosophy can learn from music.

In his books The Sirens Chant and The Sonorous Imagination, Trías suggested that philosophy in the 21st century should look more at music than just language. He believed music combines beauty and knowledge in the best way.

Main Ideas Eugenio Trías Added to Philosophy

Trías thought of himself as an "illuminist exorcist." This means he wanted to bring philosophical reason into a constant conversation with its "shadows" or hidden parts.

Instead of following ideas like logical positivism, analytical philosophy, or Marxist thought, he expanded what reason could explore. He looked at:

• Irrationality and madness (in Philosophy and carnival).
• Mythical and magical thinking (in Methodology of magical thought).
• Passionate love (in Treaty on passion).
• The Sinister, which he saw as a hidden side of beauty and the sublime (in Beauty and the sinister).
• The world of religions, which he saw as a "shadow" of modern Western reason (in The age of the Spirit).

His most important new idea came out in the early 1980s. This was his concept of limes, which means "limit" or "boundary."

The Idea of the Limit

Trías's idea of the limit came from his deep study of thinkers like Kant, Wittgenstein, and Heidegger. He especially thought about Wittgenstein's idea that "the subject is a limit of the world."

For a long time, Western philosophy has tried to understand "being" (what it means to exist). Trías suggested that "being" can be understood as "being of limit." This means it's the border area that both separates and connects what we can experience (phenomena) and things as they are in themselves (noumena). This limit is also the boundary between reason and its "shadows."

Unlike Kant, who didn't see a clear border that joins and splits these things, Trías believed such a limit exists. He described it as delicate and important. He thought this "being of limit" is what philosophers try to define. Trías also developed an anthropology (the study of humans) where people are seen as living on this limit of being. For him, a person is always connected to this important limit.

Awards and Honors

Eugenio Trías received many important awards for his philosophical work:

• In 1974, he won the New Critics Award for his book Drama and identity.
• In 1975, he received the Anagrama Essay Award for The artist and the city.
• In 1983, he was given the Spanish National Essay Prize for Beauty and the sinister.
• In 1995, he won the Ciutat de Barcelona Award for The age of the Spirit.
• Also in 1995, he received the 13th Friedrich Nietzsche Prize for all his philosophical works. This award is considered like a "Nobel Prize" for philosophy because it's the only international award given to a philosopher for their entire career. Eugenio Trías is the only Spanish-speaking philosopher to have received it.
• In 1997, he was given the Medal of the City of Buenos Aires.
• In 2000, the Autonomous University of Santo Domingo gave him an Honoris Causa Doctorate (an honorary degree).
• In 2003, the National University of San Marcos Lima also gave him an Honoris Causa Doctorate.
• In 2004, he received the Gold Medal of the Circulo de Bellas Artes de Madrid.
• In 2006, the Autonomous University of Madrid gave him an Honoris Causa Doctorate, along with the famous writer Jose Saramago.
• In 2007, his popular book The Sirens chant won two awards for best essay of the year: the Terenci Moix and the Qwerty prizes.
• In 2009, he received the Mariano de Cavia Award for his article The great travel, published in the ABC newspaper.
• In 2010, he received the Creation Prize of Extremadura, an official award.

He also held important positions, such as Vice-president of the Reina Sofia National Museum in Madrid. He was also Chairman of the Advisory Council of the Institute of Philosophy at the Centro Superior de Investigaciones Cientificas of Spain.

Books by Eugenio Trías

See also

In Spanish: Eugenio Trías para niños