Ateneo de la Juventud
Encyclopedia
Ateneo de la Juventud was an association of intellectuals, primarily writers and philosophers, in the years surrounding the Mexican centennial of 1910. The majority of the members were indeed young and came to represent a new generation of Mexican scholars, reacting specifically against positivism
and its prevalence in the ideology of the regime of Dictator Porfirio Diaz
. The group sought a revindication of the humanities
as the center of cultural creation.
, given at the National Preparatory School, an institution founded on positivist principles and source of Mexican educational since its creation in 1868.
As stated in the official statutes of the club when, in 1912, it took the name Ateneo de México, the principal goal of the association was to promote intellectual and artistic cultur. The same document outlines the strategies proposed in this effort. The members held public meetings, discussions, and lectures, and published a journal. The fundamental ideology of the Ateneo was a rejection of positivistic influences on education and culture. Instead, the members of the Ateneo thought, the humanities would be responsible for the revitalization of Mexican culture, the group's ultimate concern. Members of the Ateneo such as Alfonso Reyes stressed the importance of classical scholarship and additionally looked to the works of modern continental philosophers such as Kant
, Schopenhauer, Nietzsche, and Bergson, as well as Spanish
writers such as Jose Ortega y Gasset
, to propound new values for human societies which were contrary to scientific and positivistic trends in thought.
Positivism
Positivism is a a view of scientific methods and a philosophical approach, theory, or system based on the view that, in the social as well as natural sciences, sensory experiences and their logical and mathematical treatment are together the exclusive source of all worthwhile information....
and its prevalence in the ideology of the regime of Dictator Porfirio Diaz
Porfirio Díaz
José de la Cruz Porfirio Díaz Mori was a Mexican-American War volunteer and French intervention hero, an accomplished general and the President of Mexico continuously from 1876 to 1911, with the exception of a brief term in 1876 when he left Juan N...
. The group sought a revindication of the humanities
Humanities
The humanities are academic disciplines that study the human condition, using methods that are primarily analytical, critical, or speculative, as distinguished from the mainly empirical approaches of the natural sciences....
as the center of cultural creation.
The "Ateneo"
The Ateneo officially convened on the 28 of October, 1909. However, its origins are found in the Revista Savia Moderna (New Modern Journal), originally published in 1906 by Alfonso Cravioto and Luís Castillo Ledón. The second major antecedent to the Ateneo was the Sociedad de Conferencias (Society of Conferences), an inchoate form of the Ateneo de la Juventud who took as its goal to display to the public new ideas of education, poetry, the plastic arts, and philosophy. Finally, in the summer of 1909, Antonio Caso organized a series of conferences dealing with the history of PositivismPositivism
Positivism is a a view of scientific methods and a philosophical approach, theory, or system based on the view that, in the social as well as natural sciences, sensory experiences and their logical and mathematical treatment are together the exclusive source of all worthwhile information....
, given at the National Preparatory School, an institution founded on positivist principles and source of Mexican educational since its creation in 1868.
As stated in the official statutes of the club when, in 1912, it took the name Ateneo de México, the principal goal of the association was to promote intellectual and artistic cultur. The same document outlines the strategies proposed in this effort. The members held public meetings, discussions, and lectures, and published a journal. The fundamental ideology of the Ateneo was a rejection of positivistic influences on education and culture. Instead, the members of the Ateneo thought, the humanities would be responsible for the revitalization of Mexican culture, the group's ultimate concern. Members of the Ateneo such as Alfonso Reyes stressed the importance of classical scholarship and additionally looked to the works of modern continental philosophers such as Kant
KANT
KANT is a computer algebra system for mathematicians interested in algebraic number theory, performing sophisticated computations in algebraic number fields, in global function fields, and in local fields. KASH is the associated command line interface...
, Schopenhauer, Nietzsche, and Bergson, as well as Spanish
Spain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
writers such as Jose Ortega y Gasset
José Ortega y Gasset
José Ortega y Gasset was a Spanish liberal philosopher and essayist working during the first half of the 20th century while Spain oscillated between monarchy, republicanism and dictatorship. He was, along with Nietzsche, a proponent of the idea of perspectivism.-Biography:José Ortega y Gasset was...
, to propound new values for human societies which were contrary to scientific and positivistic trends in thought.
Noteworthy members
- Alfonso ReyesAlfonso ReyesAlfonso Reyes Ochoa was a Mexican writer, philosopher and diplomat.-Early life:Alfonso Reyes parents were Bernardo Reyes and Aurelia Ochoa...
- Antonio Caso
- Pedro Henríquez UreñaPedro Henríquez UreñaPedro Henríquez Ureña was a Dominican intellectual, essayist, philosopher, humanist, philologist and literary critic.-Early works:Pedro Henríquez Ureña was born in Santo Domingo, the third of four siblings...
- José VasconcelosJosé VasconcelosJosé Vasconcelos Calderón was a Mexican writer, philosopher and politician. He is one of the most influential and controversial personalities in the development of modern Mexico. His philosophy of "indigenismo" affected all aspects of Mexican sociocultural, political, and economic...
- Alfonso Cravioto
- Luis Castillo Ledón
- Jesús T. Acevedo
- Julio TorriJulio TorriJulio Torri Maynes was a Mexican writer and teacher who formed part of the Ateneo de la Juventud . He wrote principally in the essay form, although his limited production included short stories and scholarly works as well...
- Martín Luis GuzmánMartín Luis GuzmánMartín Luis Guzmán Franco was a Mexican novelist and journalist.-Life:Guzmán was born in Chihuahua, Chihuahua. Along with Mariano Azuela, he is considered a pioneer of the revolutionary novel, a genre inspired by the experiences of the Mexican Revolution of 1910...
- Ricardo Gómez Robelo
- Manuel de la Parra
- Isidro FabelaIsidro FabelaIsidro Fabela Alfaro was a Mexican judge, politician, professor, writer, publisher, governor of the State of Mexico, and delegate to the now defunct League of Nations...
- Samuel RamosSamuel RamosDr. Samuel Ramos was a Mexican philosopher and writer.Ramos was born in Zitácuaro, Michoacán, and in 1909 entered the Colegio de San Nicolás in Hidalgo. He published his first works in the school's student publication Flor de Loto...
Sources
- Biriotti, Maurice. "Alfonso Reyes." Encyclopedia of Latin American Literature. Ed. Verity Smith. Chicago: Fitzroy Dearborn, 1997.
- Conn, Robert T. The Politics of Philology: Alfonso Reyes and the Invention of the Latin American Literary Tradition. Cranbury, NJ: Associated University Presses. Rosemont Publishing and Printing Corp. 2002.
- Curiel Defosse, Fernando. Ateneo de la juventud (A-Z). Mexico City: Universidad Nacional Autonoma de México, 2001.
- Earle, Peter G. "José Vasconcelos." Encyclopedia of Latin American Literature. Ed. Verity Smith. Chicago: Fitzroy Dearborn, 1997.
- Martí, Oscar R. "Mexican Philosophy in the 19080's: Possibilities and Limits." Philosophy and Literature in Latin America. Ed. Jorge J. E. Gracia and Mireya Camurati. Albany: State University of New York Press, 1989.
- Pedraza, Jorge. Alfonso Reyes en la generación del ateneo de la juventud. Monterrey: Ayuntamiento, 1985.
- Ramos, Samuel. Profile of Man and Culture in Mexico. New York: McGraw-Hill Paperbacks. 1962.
External links
- PEDRO HENRIQUEZ UREÑA Y EL DESPLAZAMIENTO DEL POSITIVISMO EN MEXICO Historical Abstracts.
- H-Mexico H-Net affiliated Mexican studies website and list serve.