On the philosophical tasks of the present

Abstract

Within the framework of the agreement between El Colegio Nacional and the Universidad Michoacana de San Nicolás de Hidalgo, Dr. Luis Villoro, a member of that institution and one of the most outstanding Mexican philosophers and intellectuals of recent years, gave a series of lectures at the Samuel Ramos School of Philosophy in May 1999. A thinker who has known how to combine originality and intellectual rigor with a commitment to the discussion and understanding of the problems and circumstances of national events, Villoro has made fundamental contributions in our country to the formation of an authentic philosophical culture and the exercise of critical and rational thinking. His work, his reflection and his intellectual and social positions, constitute a frame of reference and an obligatory point of orientation for the current and future generations of Mexican scholars and thinkers. The following interview, conducted by the Director of the Faculty of Philosophy "Samuel Ramos", tries to gather the theoretical concerns and lines of interest of this community, through a dialogue that wants to move in the horizon of the complex tasks of the current philosophical thought, and of the always tense and never elusive relations of the philosophical activity with the socio-cultural and political situation of our country.