Dr. Xavier Escribano, a UIC philosophy professor, gave the first talk in a series of lectures organized by Dr. Magdalena Bosch. The lecture was called "The Naked Animal and Its Cultural Clothing: An Anthropological View" and was attended by approximately fifty people.
"The idea was to talk about humans as a combination of biological nature and culture, a classic theme in philosophical anthropology", explained Escribano.
With this in mind, the professor discussed several classical philosophies and explained how humans have had to change their environment in order to survive. “As the myth of Prometheus and Epimetheus goes, humans need an extra-natural gift, such as the control of fire and practical wisdom, in order to overcome their lack of physiological resources," Escribano said. "Culture is what we add to the shortcomings of our biological nature and acts as a suit that completes us. It places us in a human community and offers us elements for our personal cultivation and development”.
Escribano's talk was the first in this year's series of philosophical lectures. The lecture series began in the 2011-2012 academic year and is aimed at secondary-school students and teachers, but is open to anyone interested in the subject.
