The Conferències filosòfiques of the Ateneu Barcelonès (1929): an attempt to do philosophy during Primo de Rivera’s dictatorship

Abstract

The purpose of this paper is to explain, analyse and contextualize the Conferències filosòfiques that took place in Ateneu Barcelonès during the academic year of 1928-1929. Promoted by the president of Ateneu, Pere Coromines (1870-1939), these lectures gathered the most important Catalan philosophers of that time –Serra Húnter, Xirau, Carreras Artau and Mirabent, among others– and became the very first public effort to develop an academic philosophy in Catalan language since Miguel Primo de Rivera’s dictatorship started. As we will try to argue, to the symbolic value of this reawakening we must add the irruption of the high-level educational philosophy and the public role of the School of Barcelona that these conferences implied. These features force us to revaluate the role that Ateneu Barcelonès and Pere Coromines had in the development of contemporary philosophy in Catalonia during the first three decades of the 20th century.

Keywords: Ateneu Barcelonès, Catalan philosophy, School of Barcelona.