Philosophers From Mexico Trivia Quiz

Answer: Ricardo Flores Magon

Ricardo Flores Magon (1873-1922) was one of the three famous Flores Magon brothers. All of them were journalists, politicians, and anarchists, and fought against the government of Porfirio Diaz, who was in power for more than 30 years in Mexico. Jesus, Ricardo and Enrique Flores Magon were all jailed for what they published against Diaz in their newspaper "Regeneracion", and eventually kicked out of the country.

Ricardo Flores Magon was quite prolific in several fields, since he wrote for more than five newspapers, as well as a play titled "Tierra y Libertad" (Land and Freedom). He is considered as one of the forefathers of the Mexican Revolution.

Answer: Jose Vasconcelos

Jose Vasconcelos (1882-1959) was one of the most influential Mexican thinkers. He was also very involved in politics, as he was the representative of Francisco I. Madero's party (which was against Porfirio Diaz) to the United States, because of his fluent English. He became rector of the UNAM (National Autonomous University of Mexico) in 1920, and in 1921 he was the first person to have power in the newly-created Secretariat of Public Education.

Vasconcelos dedicated his life to education, but shone in many other areas. He even was a presidential candidate once! Vasconcelos' philosophy style is often regarded as eclectic, based on works like "Indiologia" and "Todologia".

Answer: Christian

Antonio Caso (1883-1946) was a nondenominational Christian, which means he believed in the moral authority of both Jesus and the Gospels, without being a member of any denomination. This aspect of Caso's life would greatly influence his philosophical works, such as "Discursos a la nación mexicana" ("Speeches to the Mexican Nation"). Caso thought that one of Mexico's biggest problems was a lack of unity of any kind.

He co-founded the Mexican Youth Athenaeum with fellow philosopher Jose Vasconcelos.

It was a humanist organization, opposed to the ideas of the time.

Answer: Manuel Gomez Morin

Manuel Gomez Morin (1897-1972) was a quite notable politician, but he also studied several philosophy courses at the National University of Mexico and was one of the "Siete Sabios" (Seven Wise Men), a group of seven Mexican students of Law who founded the "Society of Conferences and Concerts" in an attempt to spread culture through the Mexican youth. Gomez Morin founded the National Action Party, a humanist party with a right wing political tendency.

Answer: Physics

Albert Baez (1912-2007) made major contributions in X-ray technology, since he helped with the development of X-ray microscopy and telescopes. Baez was also a pacifist, and founder of charitable organization "Vivamos Mejor", which helps poor people in Mexico. Even though Baez was born in Puebla, Mexico, he lived most of his life in the United States, and got his physics doctorate there. Baez was the father of singers Joan Baez and Mimi Fariña, as well as physicist John Baez.

Answer: Eli de Gortari

Eli de Gortari (1918-1991) was a brilliant Mexican philosopher, who made major contributions in the field of dialectical logic. He studied the connections of philosophy with science, history, and even philosophy itself (philosophy of philosophy). Although he initially supported his nephew Carlos Salinas de Gortari, President of Mexico from 1988 to 1994, he later declared himself against Carlos' government.

Answer: Luis Villoro

Luis Villoro (1922-2014) obtained his Philosophy doctorate at the National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM), and was recognized with many distinctions throughout his life, such as the National Award for Science and Arts from the Mexican government, and his naming as honorary member of the Mexican Academy of Language in 2007.

He served as Mexico's ambassador to UNESCO for a time. He was the father of Mexican writer and columnist Juan Villoro.

Answer: Carlos Llano Cifuentes

Carlos Llano Cifuentes (1932-2010) studied his philosophy degrees in Mexico, Italy, Spain and Brazil. He had a humanist way of thinking, but had the mind of a businessman. He wrote several books and essays about businessmen and businesses, from a philosophical point of view. The "Universidad Panamericana" has a business school called "IPADE", greatly influenced by Llano Cifuentes.

Answer: Australia

Fernando Estrada Samano (born in 1941) graduated from the ITESO University in Philosophy, although he later completed his studies in political sciences in universities of the United States and Germany. A politician from the National Action Party, he served as an ambassador during the terms of Presidents from this party. Under Vicente Fox, he was Mexico's ambassador to the Vatican and then to Sweden. Under Felipe Calderon, he was the ambassador to Paraguay.

Answer: Manuel de Landa

Manuel de Landa (born in 1952) is prolific in a number of areas. He has made a couple of films, studied philosophy and science, and has a PhD in media communication. De Landa, who often focuses on the ideas of French philosophers Gilles Deleuze and Félix Guattari, is the author of "War in the Age of Intelligent Machines", a book that talks about the relation of technology with warfare.