The reception of Bergson thoughts in the Spanish reactionary thought. Vitalism and national-Catholicism in José Pemartín y Sanjuán (1888-‍1954)

Abstract

The main topic of this paper is how the Spanish right-wing intellectuals during the interwar years embraced the philosophy of Henri Bergson by means of the previous borrowing made by the national-catholic philosopher José Pemartín y Sanjuán (1888-‍1854). Considering a conception of the History of Philosophy that also uses the social sciences to gain in reflexivity and analytical skills too, this work will study the main texts in which the author made an use and an explicit defense of Bergson’s work against liberalism and socialism. But also the paper will make visible the anathema that the most intransigent sectors of the Church sentenced against this French philosopher. Thus, it will be shown the connection between Spanish reactionary thought and international networks and debate forums, as well as the use of intellectual goods that were circulating in these debates in order to philosophically legitimate philosophically a discourse bound to fascism during the thirties and which will form a core part of Francoist policy.