Fernando Savater

One of Spain's Most Popular Living Philosophers, Essayist and Celebrated Author

Author of important works and essays.

Fernando Savater
Spanish

Fernando Savater, winner of the Planeta Prize in 2008 for his novel “The Brotherhood of Good Luck” is one of the most renowned philosophers and writers on the Spanish scene.

Born in San Sebastian in 1947, Fernando Savater studied philosophy and literature in Madrid, where he began his career as an assistant professor at the “Universidad Autónoma”. In 1975 obtained his PhD with a thesis on Nietzsche and soon rejoined the teaching at the Chair of Ethics at the University of the Basque Country. Since 1995 teaches philosophy at the “Universidad Complutense de Madrid”.

Fernando Savater described himself “more as a professor of philosophy than as a philosopher” and has written over 45 works, including essays, novels and children′s books. His philosophical thought together in a philosophical dictionary, is part of a reflexive rebellion, not without humor and irony, anti-establishment. Ethicist, a discipline he calls “the conviction that not everything is equally, there are reasons to prefer one type of activity to another” is reflected in his books, among others, “La tarea del héroe”, “Invitación a la ética”, “Como amor propio” and “Ética para Amador”.

In 1997 he published “El valor de educar”, essay dedicated to his mother, his first teacher, which advocates education as a remedy for most ills of our society, “intolerance, fundamentalism and radical nationalism must be tackled through school -he says-“. In January 2001, he compiled numerous articles against radical nationalism, published in El Pais and El Correo (newspapers) in the book “Perdonen las molestias”.

In addition to the Sakharov Prize for human rights advocacy, which received in December 2000 on behalf of the Civic Platform “Basta Ya”, which is a spokesperson, has received among others: Premio Nacional de Ensayo (1982) Premio Anagrama, Premio Ortega y Gasset for Journalism (2000) and Premio Fernando Abril Martorell for “his defense and spread of freedom, tolerance and human rights.”

He has been awarded many Honoris Causa by universities in Spain, Europe and America, as well as diverse medals. Deeply involved in fighting against terrorism and in the defence of liberties threatened by ETA in the Basque Country, Fernando Savater is a member of the Civic Platform Basta Ya and currently of the new party Unión Progreso y Democracia.

Fernando Savater is definitely a great speaker, a clear example of civil and human rights being, definitely moving presentations, very informative and revealing.

Human rights

Ethics

Nationalism

Democracy Values

Amador: In Which a Father Addresses His Son on Questions of Ethics

In Amador, Fernando Savater writes in the form of a letter to his teenage son about ethics, morals and freedom in today's society.

Amador: In Which a Father Addresses His Son on Questions of Ethics

The Questions of Life: An Invitation to Philosophy

This book, by one of Spaina s most eminent philosophers, provides a lively and very accessible introduction to philosophy. Written for those who have no prior knowledge of the field, it reveals how the central problems of philosophy remain highly relevant to everyday contemporary life. Savater addresses the questions that we ourselves must face: what is this a Ia that I take for granted? What does it mean for me to be in the world? In what sense am I free? And how does the idea of death affect my life? In his discussion of concepts such as beauty, time and language, Savater frequently refers to earlier philosophers, yet he does so in a way that brings their ideas to life and shows their enduring relevance. Using quotations from the ancient Greeks through to more recent philosophers such as Wittgenstein and Sartre, Savater illustrates his own arguments, while also sketching a basic history of philosophical ideas. The Questions of Life has already been translated into ten languages and has enjoyed enormous success, selling over 70 000 copies in Spain alone. It is an elegant and straightforward book that abstains from specialised terminology. It constitutes an ideal introductory text for those studying philosophy at A--Level or university, and will also be of great interest to the general reader.

The Questions of Life: An Invitation to Philosophy

Eternal Life

In the midst of the XXI century, a technological and supposedly materialistic era, religious beliefs again are at the center of the ideological and political debate. They stir emotions, move the masses, exalt certain leaders and provoke terrorist attacks. They scandalize the advocates of pure and hard science; others instead consider some type of faith in the supernatural as indispensable in order to endure life and above all the certainty of death. In any case God is elbowing his way into the front stage of the world theater again. This book is about religion, or more pointedly religions: what does belief entail? In what do we believe or not believe? And what link do these beliefs have with the most important and central of all desires, the desire for immortality. The book also deals with the concept of truth, the difference between credulity and faith, non-dogmatic spiritual ways, political implications that fanatical orthodoxies have, the role of religious upbringing has in the education of secular democracies, etc... and also-perhaps above all-with how to live while facing the inevitable, without any concessions to panic or with excesses of hope. This is a brave book about the mirages and hopes in the beyond.

Eternal Life

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