Ibon URIBARRI ZENEKORTA (University of the basque Country, Vitoria, Spain)

Philosophical collections, translation and censorship

Translations played an important role in the introduction of new philosophical ideas in Spain from 1850 on, but the introduction of modern secular philosophy was more often than not in conflict with Catholicism, the dominant power in the symbolic field. Since there was little chance of publishing and publisizing such works in the established media the patrons of such translations had to establish their own publishing houses and book collections.
José Perojo, the first translator of the Kritik der reinen Vernunft (1883), founded a collection of philosophical works by authors such as Darwin which were included in the index of librorum prohibitorum. Antonio Zozaya, who died as an exile in Mexico, is another case in point. Another important figure is Ortega y Gasset, who did not act as a translator but promoted many philosophical translations as part of his activity in the renowned Revista de Occidente. This journal’s dynamic activity ended with the Civil War and the inner exile of Ortega y Gasset. Finally, Juan Bergua also initiated a collection of philosophical translations in the Republican period, which he had to abandon during the Civil War but retook upon returning to Spain from exile. This paper looks at how collections rather than individual publications play a significant role in the introduction of new European philosophical ideas in Spain. They are used as a tool to fight against a structural censorship system that favoured the dominating Catholic ideas.