His work was defining for the shape UCA took in its first years of existence and the years to come. Ellacuría was also responsible for the development of formation programs for priests in the Jesuit Central American province.
Ellacuría's academic work was an important contribution to "Liberation Philosophy". This school of
The political implications of Ellacuría's commitment to his ideas met strong opposition from the
in 1989 at his residence in UCA along with five other fellow Jesuit priests and two employees.
intelligence. This error led to two results. The first one was what Zubiri called "the logification of intelligence" and the second one was what he called "the entification of reality".
[4] [5] [6]
The "logification of intelligence" implied that intellect was reduced to
Logification of intelligence excludes sensual, not so logical, functions of intelligence. Although Zubiri recognized descriptive logos and reason as important components of intelligence , he pointed out that intelligence did not reduce itself to them. For Zubiri intelligence was a unity with the modalities of sensual apprehension, logos and reason.[4] [5] [6]
The logification of intelligence led to the perception of reality as "Being" in a zone in space and time (as in
For Zubiri, reality is paramount to Being, which is not a
Human beings' way of accessing reality is intelligence, not a logified one, but a "sentient intelligence" that is itself a part of reality.
[4] [5] [6]
The senses,
intuition and
imagination are one and the same
faculty , because each of these things determine one another. This faculty differences human beings from other
species and has been achieved through
evolution . Having a
sentient intelligence implies having a conscience and the possibility to imagine new realities. These formulations are in themselves real by postulation. Realities by postulation can also be realised in other forms, because sentient intelligence has the ability to recognise the processual and structural character of reality. Therefore, human beings are able to influence it, and create and
transcend the historical boundaries that have been reached.
[4] [5] [6]
For Zubiri there is no need for a
objective world must also come inside human beings for them to continue existing. Sentient intelligence should be able to make sense of this existence in a way that allows human beings to realise their capabilities in the world.
[4] [5] [6]
In this line of thinking, Ellacuría said human reality is unavoidably personal,
historical. Biology and society are elements of history, which means that they are always in movement. But this should not be confused with
historical materialism that says human beings are passive instruments of the forces of history. Human beings certainly inherit constraints constructed in the past but they always have the possibility to transcend them because of their sentient intelligence. Praxis is the name Ellacuría gives to reflected human action aimed at changing reality. Unlike other animals that can only respond mechanically to stimuli from outside, through sentient intelligence and praxis, human beings have to "realise" their existence. Individuals in
dialectic interaction with society, have to make out what sort of Ego to have, by using their sentient intelligence, and this implies transcending inherited constraints.
[4] [5] [6]
This means that
progress in reality happens through a combination of physical, biological and "praxical" factors. Through praxis, human beings are able to realise a wider range of possibilities for action. In other words, one praxis can lead to a wider and more complete form of praxis. When this is so, praxis can be said to contribute to increase liberty, if liberty is defined as greater possibilities for action.
[4] [5] [6]
According to Ellacuría, the existence of people that are marginalized from society implies that history and practice have not delivered a wider range of possibilities for realisation for every human being in the world. This situation has prevented these excluded people to realise their existence as human beings. Therefore, it is a situation that stands away from the fullness of humanity and the fullness of reality. But this situation can be changed.[4] [5] [6]
Ellacuría thought that before the evolution of humanity, the further development of historical reality took place only by physical and biological forces. But since the development of human beings, praxis can also contribute to realise historical reality. Since human beings have the possibility to reflect, it is philosophy's duty to exercise this ability to reflect, in order to change reality, and allow greater possibilities for individual realisation.[4] [5] [6]
This way of thinking finds its parallels in the 1990s in Martha Nussbaum 's definition of human development as the increase in human capabilities for action[7] and Amartya Sen 's notion of development as freedom.[8]
Theology
As many other
Marx's
historical materialism . However, in terms of content, he was also critical of Hegel's eurocentric view of history. Ellacuría rejected as well Marx's view of human beings as objects of their material conditions. He stressed the importance of
conscience , human praxis and its possibilities for influencing the course of history, and thereby material conditions themselves. Critics have accused him of contaminating
theology with
Marxism . His thought shares with Marxism a common Hegelian view of history as progress brought about by overcoming contradictions. Some, as
Enrique Dussel , would claim that the similarities between liberation theology and Marx's thought are to be found in common origins of the narrative of liberation in the
Judeo-Christian tradition of thought.
[9] [10] [11] [12] [13]
By Historical Theology Ellacuría meant a way of making theology: to reflect about faith from the historical present and to reflect about the historical present from faith. According to him, all theology is conditioned by its historical present. Historical theology intends to acquire conscience about its historical context and to incorporate it fully. The concept of locus theologicus (theological place) is very important in this theology.[10] [11] [12] [13]
hermeneutical
circle , since the reader understands the
Bible from his historical present and the historical present from the Bible. Ellacuría placed himself in this hermeneutic tradition, and he gave a step further. For Ellacuría, the reader is not just an individual but a
community , just like the people of
Israel in the
Old Testament . This means that community faith comes first, and then individual faith.
[10] [11] [12] [13]
According to Ellacuría, the value of the Old Testament is not reduced with the New Testament . The New Testament makes the community character of faith from the Old Testament something radical and universal. It makes it radical, because it establishes that the alliance of God with people is much more than a simple code of laws and liturgical rituals; it is an invitation to justice and charity, not as exceptional practices, but as a stable structure. That is why this alliance is established in a law. It makes the faith universal, because the New Testament is communicated to every human being, independently of race, culture, sex, religion or social condition.[10] [11] [12] [13]
Episcopal Conferences of
Medellín in 1968 and
Puebla in 1978. Such a reflection on the Bible is supported on the historical present of a collectivity that desires liberation from oppression. There is a long biblical tradition about liberation that starts with the
Book of Exodus .
[10] [11] [12] [13]
According to Ellacuría,
Other forms of doing historical theology would be for example
Union of science and theology
In his commencement address to Santa Clara University in 1982,[14] Ellacuría addressed the challenges implied in relating theology with science . He articulated a relationship between the two in his vision of a university that served the purpose of liberating the oppressed . According to Ellacuría, there are two aspects to every university. The most evident one is that it deals with culture, or, in other words, knowledge and the use of sentient intellect. The second, and not so evident, is that it must be concerned with the social reality , precisely because a university is inescapably a social force; it must transform and enlighten the society in which it lives.
Ellacuría believed that a university cannot always and in every place be the same. It must constantly look at its own peculiar historical reality. The Third World is characterized more by oppression than by liberty , more by poverty than by abundance. According to Ellacuría, in such a context a university must do everything possible so that liberty overcomes oppression. He added that the university must carry out this general commitment with the means uniquely at its disposal. As an intellectual community, the university must analyse causes; use imagination and creativity together to discover remedies to problems; communicate a consciousness that inspires the freedom of self-determination; educate professionals with a conscience, who will be the immediate instruments of such a transformation; and constantly hone an educational institution that is both academically excellent and ethically oriented.
Ellacuría thought that it is possible for reason and faith to merge in confronting the reality of the poor. Reason must open its eyes to their suffering, while faith sees in the weak of this world what salvation must mean and the conversion to which we are called.
Such a university must take into account the
preferential option for the poor
. This does not mean that only the poor will study at the university; it does not mean that the university should abdicate its mission of academic excellence, an excellence which is needed in order to solve complex social issues of our time. What it does mean, he argued, is that the university should be present intellectually where it is needed; to provide science for those without science; to provide skills for those without skills; to be a voice for those without voices; to give intellectual support, for those who do not possess the academic qualifications to make their rights legitimate.
Sainthood
In August 2023, the Archbishop of San Salvador announced the opening of Ellacuría's cause for canonization .
References
Selection of Ellacuría's publications
Ellacuría, Ignacio, Veinte Años de Historia en El Salvador: Escritos Políticos [VA], three volumes, second edition, San Salvador: UCA Editores, 1993
Ellacuría, Ignacio, Escritos Universitarios [EU], San Salvador: UCA Editores, 1999.
Ellacuría, Ignacio, Filosofía de la Realidad Histórica , San Salvador: UCA Editores, 1990.
Ellacuría, Ignacio, Escritos Filosóficos [EF], three volumes San Salvador: UCA Editores, 1996–2001.
Ellacuría, Ignacio, Escritos Teológicos [ET], four volumes, San Salvador: UCA Editores, 2000–2002
Ellacuría, Ignacio, "Filosofía y Política" [1972], VA-1, pp. 47–62
Ellacuría, Ignacio, "Liberación: Misión y Carisma de la Iglesia" [1973], ET-2, pp. 553–584
Ellacuría, Ignacio, "Diez Años Después: ¿Es Posible una Universidad Distinta?" [1975], EU, pp. 49–92
Ellacuría, Ignacio, "Hacia una Fundamentación del Método Teológico Latinoamericana" [1975], ET-1, pp. 187–218
Ellacuría, Ignacio, "Filosofía, ¿Para Qué?" [1976], EF-3, pp. 115–132
Ellacuría, Ignacio, "Fundamentación Biológica de la Ética" [1979], EF-3, pp. 251–269
Ellacuría, Ignacio, "Universidad y Política" [1980], VA-1, pp. 17–46
Ellacuría, Ignacio, "El Objeto de la Filosofía" [1981], VA-1, pp. 63–92
Ellacuría, Ignacio, "Función Liberadora de la Filosofía" [1985], VA-1, pp. 93–122
Ellacuría, Ignacio, "La Superación del Reduccionismo Idealista en Zubiri" [1988], EF-3, pp. 403–430
Ellacuría, Ignacio, "El Desafío de las Mayorías Populares" (1989), EU, pp. 297–306 (an English translation is available in TSSP, pp. 171–176)
Ellacuría, Ignacio, "En Torno al Concepto y a la Idea de Liberación" [1989], ET-1, pp. 629–657
Ellacuría, Ignacio, "Utopía y Profetismo en América Latina" [1989], ET-2, pp. 233–294 (an English translation is available in TSSP, pp. 44–88).
About Ellacuría
Burke, Kevin, The Ground Beneath the Cross: The Theology of Ignacio Ellacuría , Washington, DC: Georgetown University Press, 2000.
Burke, Kevin; Lassalle-Klein, Robert, Love that Produces Hope. The Thought of Ignacio Ellacuría , Colleville, Minnesota: Liturgical Press, 2005.
Cerutti, Horacio, Filosofia de la Liberación Latinoamericana , Mexico City: FCE, 1992.
Hassett, John; Lacey, Hugh (eds.), Towards a Society that Serves its People: The Intellectual Contribution of El Salvador’s Murdered Jesuits [TSSP], Washington, DC: Georgetown University Press, 1991.
Lee, Michael, Bearing the Weight of Salvation. The Soteriology of Ignacio Ellacuría , New York: Herder Book, The Crossroad Publishing Company, 2008.
Samour, Héctor, Voluntad de Liberación: El Pensamiento Filosófico de Ignacio Ellacuría , San Salvador: UCA Editores, 2002
Sols Lucia, José: The Legacy of Ignacio Ellacuría , Barcelona: Cristianisme i Justícia, 1998.
Sols Lucia, José: La teología histórica de Ignacio Ellacuría , Madrid: Trotta, 1999.
Sols Lucia, José: Las razones de Ellacuría , Barcelona: Cristianisme i Justícia, 2014.
Whitfield, Teresa, Paying the Price: Ignacio Ellacuría and the Murdered Jesuits of El Salvador , Philadelphia: Temple University Press, 1995.
External links