The Method of Maria Zambrano: An Analysis and Translated Selection of Essays Centered on the Concepts of the Word, the Person, Compassion and Love.

Abstract

This dissertation offers a critical introduction to translations of selected essays by María Zambrano. As of now, only one of her works has been translated into English. I organize the translations into four sections that exemplify four cornerstones to Zambrano’s thought: the word, the person, compassion and love. In so doing, I also provide an introductory essay to each of these key concepts. The word, a fundamental concept, functions as an undertaking that allows the writer in solitude to justify the actual state of being of the writer, and to communicate to others. Without the word, there is no potential for active thought. The person in Zambrano’s work acts as the effective force that evaluates his philosophy of living in the political and ethical realms, thus becoming an ethical agent for change. Compassion centers on the historization of an emotion and knowing how to deal with the mystery of “the other.” Love, for Zambrano, is a potentializing force that projects itself out into the world, creating openings without limits, rather than turning it into love that is focused on the object. Both compassion and love function as positive energies through which the person connects with his daily surroundings in order to create a new person, the embodiment of an ethical pragmatism ready to make changes in the world. Without the combination of the word, the person, compassion and love, Zambrano demonstrates that the creative force of a new person, politically and ethically, cannot exist. Among the works that I have translated are two articles, “Por qué se escribe” and “Hacia una saber sobre el alma.” These come from the collection, Hacia un saber sobre el alma. In addition, I have translated selections from the following texts: Horizonte del liberalismo, Persona y democracia: la historia sacrificial, El hombre y lo divino, Cuba secreta y otros ensayos, and Claros del bosque. The goal of this dissertation is to introduce to a wider audience selected works that demonstrate the key concepts of Zambrano’s philosophical thought, while offering insight and guidance into Zambrano’s method of thinking and working.