Millas Jiménez, Jorge (1917–1982)

Jorge Millas Jiménez (b. 17 January 1917; d. 8 November 1982), Chilean philosopher. Jorge Millas was born and educated in Santiago, where he studied philosophy and law in the 1930s. He also studied psychology at the University of Iowa and held teaching appointments at Columbia University and the University of Puerto Rico. Millas's first major work was Idea de la individualidad (1943), a book in which he affirmed the essential individuality of human nature and followed Enrique Molina Garmendia's tradition of separating philosophy from politics. He became one of the founders of Chilean philosophical professionalism in the 1950s, a period in which the study of the discipline became highly specialized and responsive to European, especially German, philosophical currents. In response to social and political change in the 1960s, Millas defended spiritual and humanistic values against the pressures of mass society. His most important works during this period are El desafío espiritual de la sociedad de masas (1964) and Idea de la filosofía (1970). A philosopher who argued that both philosophy and the university should be free from external pressures, Millas produced an influential set of essays collected under the title Idea y defensa de la universidad (1981). During the period of military rule in the 1970s and early 1980s, his articulate defense of the rights of the university gave him great public prominence. He became a leader of the academic organization Andrés Bello and an outspoken opposition voice until his death.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Enrique Molina Garmendia, La filosofía en Chile en la primera mitad del siglo XX (1953).

Iván Jaksíc, Academic Rebels in Chile: The Role of Philosophy in Higher Education and Politics (1989).

Additional Bibliography

Kourím, Zdenek. "Memoria de tres filósofos latinoamericanos." Cuadernos Hispanoamericanos 589/590 (July/August 1999): 69-88.

Sanabria, José Rubén. "En torno a la filosofía latinoamericana." Revista de Filosofía 25:75 (September/December 1992): 360-417.

                                                         IvÁn JaksÍc