The acclaimed French philosopher Edgar Morin (1921) died in Paris this Friday. The Universitat de València mourns his loss and joins his family, friends and everyone who shared his commitment to thinking, knowledge and culture in their grief.
Edgar Morin, one of the most renowned philosophers and sociologists of the second half of the 20th century, the creator of the Complex Thought theory and the last exponent of the thinkers to come out of the first half of the 20th century, has died at 104 years old. Morin was considered one of the greatest intellectual figure of our time.
Morin’s work is studies in different universities at a global level and has received numerous accolades. The Universitat de València invested him doctor honoris causa at the beginning of the 21st century; he was named in 2001 and invested in 2004.
An honoris marked by the 11M tragedy
The tragic terrorist attacks in Madrid which resulted in 202 dead people on 11 May were present in “the hearts and souls” of those who attended Edgar Morin’s investment act as doctor honoris causa through the Universitat de València, that is how the university president, Francisco Tomás, remembered it in his speech. The event took place the day after the massacre, and it was not postponed in order for the university community to come together and express in union their disgust towards the painful attack and declare their support for the victims. The decision to celebrate the act was also made with the intention of letting reason prevail over brutality, words over violence, debate and discussion over irrationality and fanaticism.
During his speech, Edgar Morin described that day as “tragic” and also began by heavily criticising the attacks and declared that “the worst thing from a human, ethical and political point of view is denying the human identity of others who might be tortured or murdered. The worst part is seeing the barbaric idea of collective responsibility return, for it punishes families and citizens for a crime or alleged crime committed by a person or a nation”.
Professor Ana Sánchez, disciple of Edgar Morin and specialist in his work, remembered his impressive trajectory both in his life and his intellectual career during her speech at his funeral. From a very young age, he was involved with the Second Spanish Republic, as well as the French resistance against Nazism. He was also persecuted by the Stalinist orthodox regime after being part of the communist party. As for his intellectual side, according to Ana Sánchez, Edgar Morin was one of the first people to become interested in popular culture and media outlets, environmental problems, the situation for women… Morin was no stranger to any scientific and anthropological challenge of the 20th century. He wrote about biology, psychology and politics. He had also been always interested in the problems in education, more specifically in renovating the education system, a topic which he wrote indispensable recommendations about.