José Vasconcelos
Encyclopedia
José Vasconcelos Calderón (28 February 1882 – 30 June 1959) 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 policies.
. He lived in Piedras Negras, Coahuila
, while attending school in Eagle Pass, Texas
. He married Serafina Miranda of Tlaxiaco
in the state of Oaxaca
in 1906. After graduating as a lawyer from the Escuela de Jurisprudencia in Mexico City
(1905), he represented the Anti-Reelection Club in Washington, D.C.
, USA
, and supported the Mexican Revolution
of 1910 headed by Francisco I. Madero
. When Madero was democratically elected president of Mexico, Vasconcelos led a structural change at the National Preparatory School, where he changed the scholar programs, breaking with the positivistic
influence. After Madero's assassination, promoted by the US ambassador Henry Lane Wilson
, Vasconcelos organized a democratic movement in order to defeat the military regime of Victoriano Huerta
. Soon after, he was exiled in Paris
, where he met Julio Torri
, Doctor Atl, Gabriele D'Annunzio
and other intellectuals and artists of that time.
After the Convention of Aguascalientes
in 1914, Vasconcelos was elected as Minister of Education during the brief presidential period of Eulalio Gutiérrez
. Later, after a brief period of exile in the United States following a disagreement with Venustiano Carranza
(1915–20), he returned and directed the National Autonomous University of Mexico
(1920) and created the Secretariat of Public Education (SEP), in 1921.
He served as the first Secretary of Public Education under Álvaro Obregón
. He resigned in 1924 because of his opposition to President Plutarco Elías Calles
. In that position he had worked in favour of the education of the masses and oriented the nation's education efforts along secular, civic, and Pan-American (americanista) lines. He ran for president
in 1929 but lost to Pascual Ortiz Rubio
in a controversial election and again left the country. He later directed the National Library of Mexico
(1940) and presided over the Mexican Institute of Hispanic Culture (1948).
education at the National Preparatory School, formerly under the influence of porfirian
thinkers like Justo Sierra
and Gabino Barreda
.
A second period of productivity was fed by a first disappointment in the political field, after Madero's murder. Then he wrote, in 1919, a long essay on Pythagorism
, as a dissertation on the links between harmony
and rhythm
, and its eventual explanation into a frame of aesthetic
monism. As he argued that only by the means of rhythm is the human being able to know the world without any intermediation, he proposed that the minimal aspects of cognition are conditioned by a degree of sympathy with the natural "vibration" of things. In this manner, he thought that the auditive categories of knowledge were much higher than the visual ones.
During a later period, Vasconcelos developed an argument for the mixing of races, as a natural and desirable direction for humankind. This work, known as La raza cósmica
(The Cosmic Race), would eventually contribute to further studies on ethnic values as an ethic
, and for the consideration of ethnic variety as an aesthetic source. ( Contrary to popular belief, 'The cosmic race' is not a science fiction work). Finally, between 1931 and 1940 he tried to consolidate his proposals by publishing his main topics organized in three capital works: Metaphisics, Ethics and Aesthetics.
with respect to several aesthetic assumptions reflected in his books. Together, Pellicer and Vasconcelos made a trip through the Middle East
(1928–29), looking for the "spiritual basis" of Byzantine
architecture.
Other works, particularly La raza cósmica and Metafísica, had a decisive influence in Octavio Paz
's El laberinto de la soledad, with anthropological and aesthetic implications. Paz wrote that Vasconcelos was "the teacher" who had educated hundreds of young Latin America
n intellectuals during his many trips to Central
and South America
. Vasconcelos was guest lecturer at Columbia University
and Princeton University
, but his influence on new generations in the U.S. became gradually less significant. Nevertheless, his work La raza cósmica has been used by Chicano
and Mexican-American movements since the 1970s, asserting the establishment of a new culture in the American Southwest based on their Mexican ancestry.
and David Alfaro Siqueiros
were given the right to paint the inner walls of the most important public buildings in Mexico (e.g., the National Palace
in the capital
), creating the Mexican mural
movement.
"Each of the great nations of History has believed itself to be the final and chosen one. [...] The Hebrews founded the belief in their superiority on oracles and divine promises. The English found theirs on observations relative to domestic animals. From the observation of cross-breeding and hereditary varieties in such animals, Darwinism emerged. First, as a modest zoological theory, then as social biology that confers definitive preponderance to the English above all races. Every imperialism needs a justifying philosophy". (La raza cósmica, 1948)
"Hitler, although he disposes of absolute power, finds himself a thousand leagues from Caesarism. Power does not come to Hitler from the military base, but from the book that inspires the troops from the top. Hitler's power is not owed to the troops, nor the battalions, but to his own discussions... Hitler represents, ultimately, an idea, the German idea, so often humiliated previously by French militarism and English perfidy. Truthfully, we find civilian governed 'democracies' fighting against Hitler. But they are democracies in name only". ("La Inteligencia se impone", Timon 16, June 8, 1940)
Mexico
The United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of...
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 policies.
Life
Vasconcelos was born in Oaxaca, OaxacaOaxaca, Oaxaca
The city and municipality of Oaxaca de Juárez, or simply Oaxaca, is the capital and largest city of the Mexican state of the same name . It is located in the Centro District in the Central Valleys region of the state, in the foothills of the Sierra Madre at the base of the Cerro del Fortín...
. He lived in Piedras Negras, Coahuila
Piedras Negras, Coahuila
-Natural Resources:This region generates a large amount of the national production of coal, one of the most economically important non-metallic minerals in the state.-Tourism:Piedras Negras' main tourist attractions are:...
, while attending school in Eagle Pass, Texas
Eagle Pass, Texas
Eagle Pass is a city in and the county seat of Maverick County The population was 27,183 as of the 2010 census.Eagle Pass borders the city of Piedras Negras, Coahuila, Mexico, which is to the southwest and across the Rio Grande. The Eagle Pass-Piedras Negras Metropolitan Area is one of six...
. He married Serafina Miranda of Tlaxiaco
Tlaxiaco
Tlaxiaco is a city, and its surrounding municipality of the same name, in the Mexican state of Oaxaca. It is located in the Tlaxiaco District in the south of the Mixteca Region, with a population of about 17,450. The city is formally known as Heroica Ciudad de Tlaxiaco in honour of a battle waged...
in the state of Oaxaca
Oaxaca
Oaxaca , , officially Estado Libre y Soberano de Oaxaca is one of the 31 states which, along with the Federal District, comprise the 32 federative entities of Mexico. It is divided into 571 municipalities; of which 418 are governed by the system of customs and traditions...
in 1906. After graduating as a lawyer from the Escuela de Jurisprudencia in Mexico City
Mexico City
Mexico City is the Federal District , capital of Mexico and seat of the federal powers of the Mexican Union. It is a federal entity within Mexico which is not part of any one of the 31 Mexican states but belongs to the federation as a whole...
(1905), he represented the Anti-Reelection Club in Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution....
, USA
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, and supported the Mexican Revolution
Mexican Revolution
The Mexican Revolution was a major armed struggle that started in 1910, with an uprising led by Francisco I. Madero against longtime autocrat Porfirio Díaz. The Revolution was characterized by several socialist, liberal, anarchist, populist, and agrarianist movements. Over time the Revolution...
of 1910 headed by Francisco I. Madero
Francisco I. Madero
Francisco Ignacio Madero González was a politician, writer and revolutionary who served as President of Mexico from 1911 to 1913. As a respectable upper-class politician, he supplied a center around which opposition to the dictatorship of Porfirio Díaz could coalesce...
. When Madero was democratically elected president of Mexico, Vasconcelos led a structural change at the National Preparatory School, where he changed the scholar programs, breaking with the positivistic
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....
influence. After Madero's assassination, promoted by the US ambassador Henry Lane Wilson
Henry Lane Wilson
Henry Lane Wilson was an American diplomat.-Biography:He was born in Crawfordsville, Montgomery County, Indiana to Indiana congressman James Wilson and his wife, Emma Wilson; he was the younger brother of John L. Wilson, and had been named for Henry Smith Lane...
, Vasconcelos organized a democratic movement in order to defeat the military regime of Victoriano Huerta
Victoriano Huerta
José Victoriano Huerta Márquez was a Mexican military officer and president of Mexico. Huerta's supporters were known as Huertistas during the Mexican Revolution...
. Soon after, he was exiled in Paris
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
, where he met Julio Torri
Julio Torri
Julio 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...
, Doctor Atl, Gabriele D'Annunzio
Gabriele D'Annunzio
Gabriele D'Annunzio or d'Annunzio was an Italian poet, journalist, novelist, and dramatist...
and other intellectuals and artists of that time.
After the Convention of Aguascalientes
Convention of Aguascalientes
The Convention of Aguascalientes was a major meeting that took place during the Mexican Revolution.The call for the Convention was issued on 1 October 1914 by Venustiano Carranza, head of the Constitutional Army, who described it as the Gran Convención de Jefes militares con mando de fuerzas y...
in 1914, Vasconcelos was elected as Minister of Education during the brief presidential period of Eulalio Gutiérrez
Eulalio Gutiérrez
Eulalio Gutiérrez Ortiz was elected provisional president of Mexico during the Aguascalientes Convention and led the country for a few months between November 6, 1914, and January 16, 1915....
. Later, after a brief period of exile in the United States following a disagreement with Venustiano Carranza
Venustiano Carranza
Venustiano Carranza de la Garza, was one of the leaders of the Mexican Revolution. He ultimately became President of Mexico following the overthrow of the dictatorial Huerta regime in the summer of 1914 and during his administration the current constitution of Mexico was drafted...
(1915–20), he returned and directed the National Autonomous University of Mexico
National Autonomous University of Mexico
The Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México is a university in Mexico. UNAM was founded on 22 September 1910 by Justo Sierra as a liberal alternative to the Roman Catholic-sponsored Royal and Pontifical University of Mexico The Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México (UNAM) (National Autonomous...
(1920) and created the Secretariat of Public Education (SEP), in 1921.
He served as the first Secretary of Public Education under Álvaro Obregón
Álvaro Obregón
General Álvaro Obregón Salido was the President of Mexico from 1920 to 1924. He was assassinated in 1928, shortly after winning election to another presidential term....
. He resigned in 1924 because of his opposition to President Plutarco Elías Calles
Plutarco Elías Calles
Plutarco Elías Calles was a Mexican general and politician. He was president of Mexico from 1924 to 1928, but he continued to be the de facto ruler from 1928–1935, a period known as the maximato...
. In that position he had worked in favour of the education of the masses and oriented the nation's education efforts along secular, civic, and Pan-American (americanista) lines. He ran for president
President of Mexico
The President of the United Mexican States is the head of state and government of Mexico. Under the Constitution, the president is also the Supreme Commander of the Mexican armed forces...
in 1929 but lost to Pascual Ortiz Rubio
Pascual Ortiz Rubio
Pascual Ortiz Rubio was a Mexican politician. He was born in Morelia, Michoacán as the son of Pascual Ortiz de Ayala y Huerta and Lenor Rubio Cornelis...
in a controversial election and again left the country. He later directed the National Library of Mexico
National Library of Mexico
The National Library of Mexico is located in Ciudad Universitaria, the main campus of the National Autonomous University of Mexico in Mexico City. It was first established on October 26, 1833....
(1940) and presided over the Mexican Institute of Hispanic Culture (1948).
Philosophical thought
Vasconcelos' first writings on philosophy are passionate reactions against the formal, positivisticPositivism
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....
education at the National Preparatory School, formerly under the influence of porfirian
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...
thinkers like Justo Sierra
Justo Sierra
Justo Sierra Méndez , was a prominent Mexican writer, journalist, poet and political figure of the second half of the nineteenth century. He was the son of Mexican novelist Justo Sierra O'Reilly, who is credited with inspiring his son with the spirit of literature...
and Gabino Barreda
Gabino Barreda
Gabino Barreda was a Mexican physician and philosopher oriented to French positivism.After participating in the U.S.-Mexican War defending his country as a volunteer, he studied medicine in Paris . There he became acquainted with Auguste Comte's doctrine, before his first publications in philosophy...
.
A second period of productivity was fed by a first disappointment in the political field, after Madero's murder. Then he wrote, in 1919, a long essay on Pythagorism
Pythagoras
Pythagoras of Samos was an Ionian Greek philosopher, mathematician, and founder of the religious movement called Pythagoreanism. Most of the information about Pythagoras was written down centuries after he lived, so very little reliable information is known about him...
, as a dissertation on the links between harmony
Harmony
In music, harmony is the use of simultaneous pitches , or chords. The study of harmony involves chords and their construction and chord progressions and the principles of connection that govern them. Harmony is often said to refer to the "vertical" aspect of music, as distinguished from melodic...
and rhythm
Rhythm
Rhythm may be generally defined as a "movement marked by the regulated succession of strong and weak elements, or of opposite or different conditions." This general meaning of regular recurrence or pattern in time may be applied to a wide variety of cyclical natural phenomena having a periodicity or...
, and its eventual explanation into a frame of aesthetic
Aesthetics
Aesthetics is a branch of philosophy dealing with the nature of beauty, art, and taste, and with the creation and appreciation of beauty. It is more scientifically defined as the study of sensory or sensori-emotional values, sometimes called judgments of sentiment and taste...
monism. As he argued that only by the means of rhythm is the human being able to know the world without any intermediation, he proposed that the minimal aspects of cognition are conditioned by a degree of sympathy with the natural "vibration" of things. In this manner, he thought that the auditive categories of knowledge were much higher than the visual ones.
During a later period, Vasconcelos developed an argument for the mixing of races, as a natural and desirable direction for humankind. This work, known as La raza cósmica
La Raza Cósmica
Published in 1925, La Raza Cósmica is an essay written by late Mexican philosopher, secretary of education, and 1929 presidential candidate, José Vasconcelos to express the ideology of a future "fifth race" in the Americas; an agglomeration of all the races in the world with no respect to color or...
(The Cosmic Race), would eventually contribute to further studies on ethnic values as an ethic
Ethics
Ethics, also known as moral philosophy, is a branch of philosophy that addresses questions about morality—that is, concepts such as good and evil, right and wrong, virtue and vice, justice and crime, etc.Major branches of ethics include:...
, and for the consideration of ethnic variety as an aesthetic source. ( Contrary to popular belief, 'The cosmic race' is not a science fiction work). Finally, between 1931 and 1940 he tried to consolidate his proposals by publishing his main topics organized in three capital works: Metaphisics, Ethics and Aesthetics.
Influence
Vasconcelos is often referred to as the father of the "indigenismo" philosophy. In recent times, this philosophy, has come under criticism from Native Americans because of its negative implications concerning indigenous peoples. To an extent, his philosophy argued for a new, "modern" mestizo people, but at the cost of cultural assimilation of all ethnic groups. His research on the nature of Mexican modern identity had a direct influence on the young writers, poets, anthropologists and philosophers who wrote on this subject. He also influenced the point of view of Carlos PellicerCarlos Pellicer
Carlos Pellicer Cámara , born in Villahermosa, Tabasco, was part of the first wave of modernist Mexican poets and was heavily active in the promotion of Mexican art and literature...
with respect to several aesthetic assumptions reflected in his books. Together, Pellicer and Vasconcelos made a trip through the Middle East
Middle East
The Middle East is a region that encompasses Western Asia and Northern Africa. It is often used as a synonym for Near East, in opposition to Far East...
(1928–29), looking for the "spiritual basis" of Byzantine
Byzantium
Byzantium was an ancient Greek city, founded by Greek colonists from Megara in 667 BC and named after their king Byzas . The name Byzantium is a Latinization of the original name Byzantion...
architecture.
Other works, particularly La raza cósmica and Metafísica, had a decisive influence in Octavio Paz
Octavio Paz
Octavio Paz Lozano was a Mexican writer, poet, and diplomat, and the winner of the 1990 Nobel Prize for Literature.-Early life and writings:...
's El laberinto de la soledad, with anthropological and aesthetic implications. Paz wrote that Vasconcelos was "the teacher" who had educated hundreds of young Latin America
Latin America
Latin America is a region of the Americas where Romance languages – particularly Spanish and Portuguese, and variably French – are primarily spoken. Latin America has an area of approximately 21,069,500 km² , almost 3.9% of the Earth's surface or 14.1% of its land surface area...
n intellectuals during his many trips to Central
Central America
Central America is the central geographic region of the Americas. It is the southernmost, isthmian portion of the North American continent, which connects with South America on the southeast. When considered part of the unified continental model, it is considered a subcontinent...
and South America
South America
South America is a continent situated in the Western Hemisphere, mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a relatively small portion in the Northern Hemisphere. The continent is also considered a subcontinent of the Americas. It is bordered on the west by the Pacific Ocean and on the north and east...
. Vasconcelos was guest lecturer at Columbia University
Columbia University
Columbia University in the City of New York is a private, Ivy League university in Manhattan, New York City. Columbia is the oldest institution of higher learning in the state of New York, the fifth oldest in the United States, and one of the country's nine Colonial Colleges founded before the...
and Princeton University
Princeton University
Princeton University is a private research university located in Princeton, New Jersey, United States. The school is one of the eight universities of the Ivy League, and is one of the nine Colonial Colleges founded before the American Revolution....
, but his influence on new generations in the U.S. became gradually less significant. Nevertheless, his work La raza cósmica has been used by Chicano
Chicano
The terms "Chicano" and "Chicana" are used in reference to U.S. citizens of Mexican descent. However, those terms have a wide range of meanings in various parts of the world. The term began to be widely used during the Chicano Movement, mainly among Mexican Americans, especially in the movement's...
and Mexican-American movements since the 1970s, asserting the establishment of a new culture in the American Southwest based on their Mexican ancestry.
Contributions to the arts and education
Thanks to José Vasconcelos, the National Symphonic Orchestra (1920) and the Symphonic Orchestra of Mexico (1928) were officially endorsed. Muralists Diego RiveraDiego Rivera
Diego María de la Concepción Juan Nepomuceno Estanislao de la Rivera y Barrientos Acosta y Rodríguez was a prominent Mexican painter born in Guanajuato, Guanajuato, an active communist, and husband of Frida Kahlo . His large wall works in fresco helped establish the Mexican Mural Movement in...
and David Alfaro Siqueiros
David Alfaro Siqueiros
José David Alfaro Siqueiros was a social realist painter, known for his large murals in fresco that helped establish the Mexican Mural Renaissance, together with works by Diego Rivera and José Clemente Orozco, and also a member of the Mexican Communist Party who participated in an...
were given the right to paint the inner walls of the most important public buildings in Mexico (e.g., the National Palace
National Palace (Mexico)
The National Palace, or Palacio Nacional in Spanish), was the seat of the federal executive in Mexico. It is located on Mexico City's main square, the Plaza de la Constitución...
in the capital
Mexico City
Mexico City is the Federal District , capital of Mexico and seat of the federal powers of the Mexican Union. It is a federal entity within Mexico which is not part of any one of the 31 Mexican states but belongs to the federation as a whole...
), creating the Mexican mural
Mexican murals
Mexican murals are an important part of Mexican culture and history. Murals have been used for political, social, environmental, and cultural representation.-Mayans and Aztecs:...
movement.
Quotations
"... the leaders of Latin American independence ... strove to free the slaves, declared the equality of all men by natural law; the social and civic equality of whites, blacks and indians. In an instant of historical crisis, they formulated the transcendental mission assigned to that region of the Globe: the mission of fusing the peoples ethnically and spiritually." (La raza cósmica, 1948)ƒ"Each of the great nations of History has believed itself to be the final and chosen one. [...] The Hebrews founded the belief in their superiority on oracles and divine promises. The English found theirs on observations relative to domestic animals. From the observation of cross-breeding and hereditary varieties in such animals, Darwinism emerged. First, as a modest zoological theory, then as social biology that confers definitive preponderance to the English above all races. Every imperialism needs a justifying philosophy". (La raza cósmica, 1948)
"Hitler, although he disposes of absolute power, finds himself a thousand leagues from Caesarism. Power does not come to Hitler from the military base, but from the book that inspires the troops from the top. Hitler's power is not owed to the troops, nor the battalions, but to his own discussions... Hitler represents, ultimately, an idea, the German idea, so often humiliated previously by French militarism and English perfidy. Truthfully, we find civilian governed 'democracies' fighting against Hitler. But they are democracies in name only". ("La Inteligencia se impone", Timon 16, June 8, 1940)
Publications
Philosophy
- Pitágoras (1919)
- El monismo estético (1919)
- La Raza CósmicaLa Raza CósmicaPublished in 1925, La Raza Cósmica is an essay written by late Mexican philosopher, secretary of education, and 1929 presidential candidate, José Vasconcelos to express the ideology of a future "fifth race" in the Americas; an agglomeration of all the races in the world with no respect to color or...
(1925) - Indología (1926)
- Metafísica (1929)
- Pesimismo alegre (1931)
- Estética (1936)
- Ética (1939)
- Historia del pensamiento filosófico (1937)
- Lógica orgánica (1945)
Other works
- Teoría dinámica del derecho (1907)
- La intelectualidad mexicana (1916)
- Ulises criollo (1935)
- La tormentaLa TormentaLa Tormenta is a Colombian 2005 - 2006 telenovela originally produced by RTI Colombia and broadcast by Telemundo and Caracol TV, starring Natalia Streignard and Christian Meier...
(1936) - Breve Historia de México (1937)
- El desastre (1938)
- El proconsulado (1939)
- El ocaso de mi vida (1957)
Further reading
- Bar Lewaw, Itzhak. Introducción Crítico-Biografía a José Vasconcelos. Madrid: Ediciones Latinoamericanas, 1965.
- ---. José Vasconcelos. México: Clásica Selecta Editora Libreria, 1965.
- Carballo, Emmanuel. Diecinueve protagonistas de la literatura mexicana del siglo XX. México: Empresas Editoriales, SA, 1965; see especially. 17–47.
- De Beer, Gabriela. "El ateneo y los atenistas: un examen retrospectivo". Revista Iberoamericana 148–149, Vol 55 (1989): 737–749.
- Lucas, Jeffrey Kent. The Rightward Drift of Mexico's Former Revolutionaries: The Case of Antonio Díaz Soto y Gama. Lewiston, NY, USA: Edwin Mellen Press, 2010.
- Molloy, Sylvia. "First Memories, First Myths: Vasconcelos' Ulises criollo". En At Face Value: Autobiographical Writing in Spanish America. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1991, pp. 186–208.
- Ward, Thomas. "José Vasconcelos y su cosmomología de la raza". En La resistencia cultural: la nación en el ensayo de las Américas. Lima: Editorial Universitaria URP, 2004, pp. 246–254.
External links
- Encyclopedia – Britannica Online Encyclopedia at www.britannica.com
- José Vasconcelos An Inventory to His Manuscripts at the Benson Latin American Collection at www.lib.utexas.edu