The philosopher, professor at the University of Girona (UdG) and former MEP Josep Maria Terricabras died yesterday 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 media. The rector of the UdG, Quim Salvi, described the late philosopher as "a wise, affable man, always interesting in conversation". And he added: "On behalf of the UdG, thank you very much for that! We will always miss you, Terri."
Terricabras graduated in Philosophy and Letters from the University of Barcelona, majoring 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 chaired the Aliança Lliure Europe, where he participated in the Brexit negotiations. In a message on social networks, the European party remembered the Catalan politician's "philosophical approach to politics, his sense of humor, and his great knowledge".
ERC also mourned his death and issued a statement in memory of his political commitment: "The militancy, friendships, 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 MEP for Esquerra Republicana".
"We also want to express - continues the text - our deep gratitude and recognition for Josep Maria, committed to public service and republican values". And he describes the deceased as "a good man who dedicated a large part 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". the training announcement ends.
For his part, the president of the formation, Oriol Junqueras, also said goodbye to the former MEP with another message: "We talked, we dreamed and we worked for a new country and a new Europe". And he added: "A friend is leaving and the country is losing one of those men we couldn't let ourselves lose."
This has also been recalled by the president of the Generalitat, Pere Aragonès, who has stated that the death of Terricabras "leaves a void that cannot be filled". "Friend, teacher, referent of the defense of Catalonia, of republican values and humanism", assured Aragonès in a message on social networks. “You will be greatly missed, Terri. A giant hug to your family. By your side always", the text concluded.
Also, former president Carles Puigdemont added his words to the farewell: "We will miss you. What a shame to have lost such a valuable man and so 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 a professor at 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 he retired in 2016.
His field of study and academic publications focused on philosophy of language, logic, theory of knowledge, and most notably the work of Ludwig Wittgenstein, on whose thought he published Ludwig Wittgenstein: Kommentar und Interpretation (1978) and Catalan translations of his works. Terricabras undertook versions of Ecce homo, by Nietzsche, and The Discomfort in Civilization, by Freud. In 1994 he directed the updating of the Dictionary of Philosophy by Josep Ferrater i Móra. 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-specialist public.
Member of the Institut d'Estudis Catalans assigned to the Philosophy and Social Sciences Section since 1995, he was also part of numerous international academic societies, and before becoming a MEP and member of the Catalan National Assembly, he held several positions in administration related to education and translation.
Numerous personalities from the academic and political worlds added to the displays of condolence. Among them, the singer-songwriter Cesk Freixas, who remembered Terricabras as "a man of the whole country, always ready to defend the most just causes of humanity".
