Humberto Giannini Íñiguez (25 February 1927 – 25 November 2014) was a Chilean philosopher of Italian descent. A disciple and continuator of , he was a member of the Academia Chilena de la Lengua and winner of the National Prize for Humanities and Social Sciences in 1999.
Biography The son of Osvaldo Giannini and Olga Íñiguez Maturana, Humberto Giannini was born in San Bernardo, and grew up in Valparaíso. He was the brother of deputy Osvaldo Giannini Iñíguez.
Giannini described his studies as "a life a bit uneven". He was thrown out of school because of discipline problems and was a sailor for two years. Then he resumed his studies at a night school and became "a great reader of philosophy." He enrolled at the University of Chile's in 1953, where he would teach beginning in 1958, and where he would become, years later, professor emeritus and director of the UNESCO Chair of Philosophy based in Santiago.
He studied Hermeneutics and Philosophy of Religion at the Sapienza University of Rome, a two-year scholarship from the Italian government. His degree thesis was on the Metaphysics of Language. After the military coup of 11 September 1973, he got on "very badly...I received reprimands; they did not promote me for a long time and they suppressed the philosophy department of which I was director (at the Santiago North Headquarters of the University of Chile)."
In 1998 he was elected an active member of the Academia Chilena de la Lengua, where he occupied chair No. 12. That same year, he received the honorary title of Doctor Honoris Causa from Paris 8 University Vincennes-Saint-Denis.
Regarding his work, it has been said:
Several essays have been dedicated to his work, some of which have been collected in Humberto Giannini: filósofo de lo cotidiano (LOM Ediciones/Academy of Christian Humanism University, Santiago, 2010, ). In El pensamiento filosófico latinoamericano, del Caribe y 'latino' (1300–2000), edited by Enrique Dussel, Eduardo Mendieta, and Carmen Bohórquez, a section is dedicated to his thinking (Siglo XXI Editores/Crefal, Mexico, 2009).
Death On 25 November 2014, he fell into a coma and later died at Santiago's .
Awards and distinctions Santiago Municipal Literature Award (1982) Manuel Montt Award (1993) Doctor Honoris Causa from the University of Paris (1998) National Prize for Humanities and Social Sciences (1999) National Book and Reading Council Award (2008), Essay category, for La metafísica eres tú Altazor Award (2009), Essay category, for La metafísica eres tú Jorge Millas Award (2012) Municipality of Ñuñoa Illustrious Distinction (2011) for his invaluable contribution to the world of philosophy and the humanities Juvenal Hernández Jaque Medal (2013)
Selected works Reflexiones acerca de la convivencia humana (1965) El mito de la autenticidad (1968) Desde las palabras (1981) Breve Historia de la Filosofía (1985; numerous reprintings by Editorial Universitaria and Editorial Catalonia) La reflexión cotidiana: hacia una arqueología de la experiencia (1987; 6th edition in 2004), 338 pgs., La experiencia moral (1992) Del bien que se espera y del bien que se debe (1997) El pasar del tiempo y su medida (2001), Editorial Universitaria, La metafísica eres tú, Editorial Catalonia, 2007
References
External links Humberto Giannini (1927–2014) at the University of Chile Humberto Giannini (1927–2014) at Memoria Chilena