The philosopher, professor at the University of Girona (UdG) and former MEP Josep Maria Terricabras died this Tuesday at the age of 77. “We deeply regret the loss of Professor Josep Maria Terricabras, professor of philosophy and honorary director of the Ferrater Mora Chair at the University of Girona,” the university said in a message on social networks. The rector of the UdG, Quim Salvi, described the deceased philosopher as “a wise, affable man, always interesting in conversation.” And he added: “On behalf of the UdG, thank you very much for so much that you have contributed to us and we will always miss you, Terri.”
Terricabras graduated in philosophy and literature from the University of Barcelona specializing in philosophy in 1972. He was also an MEP for ERC as an independent candidate between 2014 and 2019, and in the European Parliament he presided over the European Free Alliance, where he participated in the Brexit negotiations. In a message on social networks, the European party remembered the Catalan politician "his philosophical approach to politics, his sense of humor, and his great knowledge."
ERC also regretted his death and released a statement in memory of his political commitment: “The militancy, friends, workers and the entire organization of Esquerra Republicana express the deepest sadness for the death of the philosopher and professor Josep Maria Terricabras, who was a MEP. by Esquerra Republicana”.
“We also want to express – the text continued – our deep gratitude and recognition for Josep Maria, committed to public service and republican values.” And it describes the deceased as “a good man who dedicated much of his life to the study and teaching of philosophy, but also to public service representing the citizens of Catalonia in the European Parliament between 2014 and 2019,” concludes the statement. the formation.
For his part, the president of the party, Oriol Junqueras, also said goodbye to the former MEP with another message: “We talk, we dream and we work for a new country and a new Europe.” And he added: “A friend leaves and the country loses one of those men that we could not let ourselves lose.”
The president of the Generalitat, Pere Aragonès, also recalled this, stating that the death of Terricabras “leaves a void that cannot be filled.” “Friend, teacher, reference for the defense of Catalonia, of republican values and humanism,” Aragonès said in a message on social networks. “You will be sorely missed, Terri. A giant hug to your family. Always by your side,” his text concluded.
Likewise, former president Carles Puigdemont added his words to his farewell: “We will miss you. What a shame to have lost a man as valuable and as committed to Catalonia as Josep Maria Terricabras.” And he concluded: “And may everything we have learned from you accompany us for the rest of our lives.”
In the academic field, Terricabras obtained doctorates in philosophy and educational sciences from the universities of Münster (1977) and Barcelona (1985). He taught at that German university, also as an institute professor in Sant Feliu de Guíxols, as well as at the Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya and the Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona. In 1985 he was appointed full professor at the University of Girona, where in 1989 he founded the Ferrater Mora chair which he directed until his retirement in 2016.
His field of study and academic publications focused on the philosophy of language, logic, the theory of knowledge and, above all, on Ludwig Wittgenstein, about whose thought he published Ludwig Wittgenstein: Kommentar und Interpretation (1978) and translations into Catalan of his works. Terricabras undertook versions of Ecce Homo, by Nietzsche, and El malaise en la civilització, by Freud. In 1994 he directed the updating of Josep Ferrater i Móra's Diccionari de Filosofia. Also interested in issues of ethics and civic and political values, he adapted books and wrote works aimed at disseminating philosophical reflection for the non-specialized public.
Member of the Institute of Catalan Studies assigned to the Philosophy and Social Sciences Section since 1995, he was also part of numerous international academic societies, and before becoming a Member of the European Parliament and a member of the Catalan National Assembly, he held several positions in the administration related to the education and translation.
Numerous personalities from the academic and political world joined in the expressions of condolences. Among them, the singer-songwriter Cesk Freixas, who remembered Terricabras as “a man of the entire country, always willing to defend the most just causes of humanity.”
