A self-diagnosis of positivism in Mexico. Justo Sierra's “Inaugural Address to the National University” in light of the centenary of the Mexican Revolution.

Abstract

This article examines two major conceptions of the human being developed by Max Scheler and Ernst Cassirer, central figures in twentieth-century philosophical anthropology. The author situates the emergence of this discipline within a historical context marked by the crisis of traditional forms of social life, social instability, and spiritual disorientation following World War I. Against this backdrop, the study critically reviews the classical philosophical, theological, and scientific views of human nature, which both thinkers regard as insufficient. In Scheler’s case, the article presents his thesis that the essence of the human being cannot be explained by reason or biology alone, but by spirit, understood as an autonomous and non-organic dimension characterized by objectivity, self-consciousness, and openness to the world. In contrast, Cassirer defines the human being as a symbolic animal, emphasizing the constitutive role of language, myth, art, and religion in cultural life. The article compares both perspectives, highlighting their similarities and differences, and concludes with a critical assessment that favors Cassirer’s position, arguing that a symbolic explanation of human nature is more persuasive than a metaphysical account grounded in the notion of spirit.