Archive for January/2008

Julián Montaño

El vocabulario que habla de nuestra vida subjetiva es muy amplio, y, diablos, es muy lioso: conocimiento, inteligencia, entendimiento, sentimiento, emoción, sensación, comprensión, ver, mirar, oír, sentir, gustar, sentirse, gustarse, idea, razón, saber, etc. Muchas veces confundimos términos (‘conocimiento’ y ‘entendimiento’) y otras simplemente nombramos distintos fenómenos con la misma palabra (‘sentir’ para ‘sensación’ y para ‘emoción’).

Por ejemplo, ¿qué es eso del ‘conocimiento’ y en que se diferencia de, digamos, ‘inteligencia’ o ‘razón’?

Conocimiento es un determinado tipo de relación que mantenemos con la realidad. Podemos mantener un montón de relaciones distintas con la realidad, por ejemplo, podemos producirla, como cuando hacemos un bizcocho (los griegos llamaban a esto póiesis), y esta relación es la de producción; podemos intervenir en ella pero sólo en la parte que somos nosotros, como cuando trabajamos o aprendemos esgrima (los griegos llamaban a esto práxis), y esta relación es la de mantener una práctica. También podemos mantener una relación con ella que sea la de hacerse un esquema de cómo es la realidad, un mapa de aquello que la compone, esta relación es la de conocimiento y su producto es el saber. Cuando conozco la realidad lo que resulta es el saber, que sé algo (los griegos llamaban a esta relación theoría).

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Felicia Appenteng

In Florida, it was winner take all, and last night John McCain, solidifying his status as front-runner for the Republican nomination, winning 36% of the vote.  Unlike other states in this primary process, delegates are not awarded by district, but rather the candidate who has the most votes takes all of Florida’s 57 delegates, the largest prize so far.  Former New York City Mayor, Rudolph Giuliani, has not campaigned in any of the previous Republican states, choosing to focus all of his attention on Florida.  With 99% of the districts reporting, Giuliani came in third, capturing a mere 15% of the vote.  Many had been questioning his strategy of only focusing on Florida, and it has become clear that it was not successful.  It is expected that Giuliani will endorse McCain as early as this morning. 

The other main candidate, Mitt Romney, was disappointed by his second place finish, carrying 31% of the vote, but is determined to push on, and his personal fortune enables him to do so.  As with the Democrats, it all comes down to Super Tuesday.  David Brooks, New York Times Columnist, a stated admired of John McCain offers his analysis here.  To read an important profile of Rudolph Giuliani, who has been characterized from a racist and vindictive bully by his detractors and as an American hero by his supporters, click here. 

Arantza de Areilza

La Fundación Instituto de Empresa y la Real Sociedad Económica Matritense de Amigos del País inauguran hoy en la Torre de los Lujanes de Madrid, un ciclo de conferencias en memoria al III Marqués de la Romana, Pedro Caro y Sureda (1761-1811).

Pedro Caro y Sureda fue un noble e ilustrado mallorquín cuyas proezas y valentía como general del ejército español en la Guerra de la Independencia Española le valió el agradecimiento de la Monarquía española y la confianza y el respeto de Wellington, tal como comenta Elizabeth Longforth en su libro titulado "Wellington:The Years of the Sword".

El III Marqués de la Romana sobresalía por su esmerada educación adquirida en el colegio de la Trinidad de Lyon y completada en la Universidad de Salamanca y en el Real Seminario de Nobles donde se inclinó por las humanidades y las lenguas que posteriormente le serían de gran utilidad en sus hazañas bélicas en Europa.

Participó en la guerra Americana, en la reconquista de Menorca y en la Batalla de Gibraltar, para luego encabezar varias misiones diplomáticas en Europa. En 1793, el coronel de caballería Romana luchó contra Francia en la Guerra de la Primera Coalición, y , en 1802, fue nombrado Capitán General de Cataluña y Jefe del Cuerpo de Ingenieros en 1805. Dos años después, el Rey Carlos IV, presionado por Napoleón, aceptó enviar tropas de apoyo al ejercito Napoleónico en Alemania y puso al frente de aquella "División del Norte" al Marqués de la Romana.

Encontrándose Don Pedro Caro en 1808 en Dinamarca bajo las órdernes del Mariscal Bernadotte estalla la Guerra de Independencia en España en contra de la invasión napoleónica y de la coronación de José I como Rey de España. El Marqués de la Romana y su División rechazan prestar juramento al nuevo Rey.

El Marqués de la Romana no lo duda y, con la ayuda de los Británicos, consigue repatriar a su División a España . Romana y sus hombres atracan en Santander para ser nombrado Comandante de la Armada de Galicia desde donde consigue el repliegue de los franceses de Galicia y Asturias.

Es, quizá, la lucidez y la determinación del Marqués de la Romana de repatriar con celeridad a sus 9.000 hombres desde Dinamarca a la costa cantábrica española para desde allí apoyar la ofensiva contra los Franceses, uno de los episodios de la historia militar de España más señalados.

Hoy, se conmemora la figura de este hombre culto, mecenas de las artes, artífice de una espléndida biblioteca y de una magnífica colección de cuadros de Francisco de Goya, perteneciente hoy al actual Marqués de la Romana, Diego del Alcázar y Silvela, quién supo conciliar una gran habilidad diplomática con el valor y la lealtad a su país en una época histórica convulsa y marcada por la violencia bélica.

El III Marqués de la Romana es el ejemplo de la trayectoria de un hombre culto y políglota , al que le divertía contar anécdotas como la de que el reloj que le regaló Manuel de Godoy era falso. Fue un Ilustrado que supo estar a la altura de lo que el momento histórico pidió de él.

Miguel Herrero de Jáuregui

Last week I was invited to witness the killing of the pig in Rossano, Calabria, the so-called Ravenna of the South. Nothing seems to have changed much, apparently, from Byzantine times. I was expectant to see all the ancient sacrificial rituals, which have been lost in the mechanized executions of the North, and I was not disappointed. On the contrary, the traditional usages were alife and full of sense, practiced with a sobriety which stands on the antipodes of the useless ornaments of touristic plays.

I told Julian I would write about this, because I think it is part of our culture. I know this post may be not everybody’s cup of tea and that’s why I’ve transferred the photo to the second part. But the killing of the pig has been for centuries a key moment in the life of peasant families in Europe, and it justly became ritualized as a feast which preserves an ancestral heritage. As Walter Burkert showed, Homo Sapiens is first of all Homo Necans. Modern cities are far from this culture now, though pigs are killed massively to feed them.

English language has preserved a trace of a similar social disinction: the “pork” is eaten while the “pig” is alife. That difference (like “beef” and “cow”) is due to the fact that French-speaking Norman conquerors (who said “porc” and “boeuf”) saw the animals as food on the table, while the Saxons fed, killed and lived with the animals in the country. Most of us usually live like Normans, eating ham and sausages without a single thought about where they come from. Let us submerge for once into the world of the Saxons.

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Arantza de Areilza

Click here to read this post in Spanish

The Instituto de Empresa Foundation and The Madrid Royal Academic Society of the Friends of the Country inaugurate today in the Lujanes Tower of Madrid, a cycle of conferences in the memory of the Third Marquis of La Romana, Pedro Caro y Sureda (1761-1811). 

www.bicentenariolaromana.com

Pedro Caro y Sureda was a noble and enlightened Mallorcan, whose adventures and bravery as a General in the Spanish army in the War of Spanish Independence gave him the gratitude of the Spanish monarchy and the trust of Wellington, as mentioned by Elizabeth Longforth in her book titled, “Wellington:  The Years of the Sword.” 

The Third Marquis of Romana stood out for his meticulous education acquired in the Ecole de la Trinité at Lyon, in France, and completed at Salamanca University and The Nobles Royal Seminary where he inclined towards the humanities and languages which would subsequently become of great use in his war accomplishments in Europe.   

He participated in the reconquest of Minorca and in The Battle of Gibraltar, and later went on to lead various diplomatic missions in Europe.  In 1793, the colonel of cavalry Romana fought against France in the War of the First Coalition, and, in 1802, he was named General Captain of Catalonia and Chief of Engineers Corps in 1805.  Two years later, King Carlos IV, pressured by Napoleon, agreed to send troops to support the Napoleonic army in Germany and placed at the front of the “Northern Division” the Marquis of Romana. 

Don Pedro Caro found himself in 1808 in Denmark under the order of the Mariscal Bernadotte, when the War of Spanish Independence broke out against the Napoleonic invasion and of the coronation of José I as the King of Spain.  The Marquis of La Romana and his division refused to swear an oath to the new King.   

The Marquis of  La Romana, did not trust him and with the help of the British, was able to repatriate his division to Spain.  Romana and his men, arrived in Santander where is was  appointed Commander of the Galician Armada at which point he was able to achieve the withdrawal of the French from Galicia and Asturias. 

It is, perhaps, the lucidity and the determination of the Marquis of  La Romana to celeritously repatriate his 9,000 men from Denmark to the Cantabrian Coast and from there to support the offensive against the French, that is one of the most pointed to episodes of Spanish military history.   

Today, the figure of this cultivated man is commemorated, Patron of the Arts, artifice of a splendid library and a magnificent collection of paintings of Francisco de Goya, belonging to the current Marquis of La Romana, Diego del Alcázar y Silvela, who knew how to reconcile a great diplomatic ability with the courage and the loyalty to his country in a tormented period of history, marked by the violence of war.   

The Third Marquis of La Romana is the example of the trajectory of a cultured polyglot, who enjoyed telling anecdotes such as the episode in which Manuel de Godoy offered him a false clock.  He was an enlightened man who knew how to rise to the heights that the historic moment asked of him.