They champion humanism as a response to contemporary crises.

Ximena Torres

Humanism has been one of the great intellectual projects of Western civilization and has contributed to societies questioning freedom, dignity, justice, and even the meaning of existence. However, as Alexander Zatyrka, SJ, rector of ITESO, points out, it is also a project with contradictions, whose values have coexisted, at different times, with practices of domination, intolerance, authoritarianism, and exclusion.

“This allows us to say that humanism is not an inheritance that we should preserve intact, but a question that each era is obliged to rethink,” Zatyrka added.

Luis Alfonso González Valencia, SJ, rector of Ibero León and assistant of Education for the Universities of the Mexican Province of the Society of Jesus, agrees with this vision, as he assures that, in the current context marked by inequalities, violence, cultural and technological transformations, the humanities help to formulate pertinent questions about the ends and consequences of human decisions.

The remarks made by both Jesuits describe the meaning of the Encounter of Humanism and the Humanities within the educational tradition of the Society of Jesus. In its tenth edition, held at ITESO, the discussion focused on the enduring relevance of this philosophical current as a guide for the modern world and higher education.

How did Ignatius of Loyola relate to the humanities, and what tools do these disciplines still offer to address current challenges? These were some of the questions addressed on the first day of the meeting, during the presentation entitled “Humanism in the History of the West and in the Society of Jesus.”

A handcrafted intelligence

This is not the first time humanity has shared a widespread awareness of crisis, explained Alfonso Alfaro, who holds an honorary doctorate from the Jesuit University System (SUJ). He proposes three questions, which he also calls figures, to address the challenges from a humanist perspective. The first concerns the recognition that new inequalities are emerging on top of those that already existed.

In a graphic presented by Alfaro, this appears as a series of spheres representing diverse crises—cyclical, structural, cultural, and human. There is a point where all these spheres meet: that is precisely where the world is located. “It's raining on already wet ground,” the academic said, and, to introduce his second figure, added that “the blow depends on the toad.”

This also acknowledges that the West is not the only civilization and, therefore, the approaches to addressing problems will be diverse. To illustrate his point, Alfaro spoke of Confucian and Islamic societies, the Neo-Byzantine Empire, the Indian subcontinent, and societies deeply rooted in the land. To these is added the realm of Christianity, within which Mexican society finds itself.

According to Alfaro, one of the best tools Christian societies have for confronting crises is their Western cultural framework. This framework consists of Renaissance humanism, Enlightenment humanism, industrial power, emerging power, and craftsmanship. The latter is particularly valuable today because it includes elements such as an awareness of human mortality, the body as an agent, and work as a source of satisfaction for the worker.

“These proposals from artisanal culture, which are present in Western tradition, can provide clues for reconfiguring the new proposal of intelligence that is offered to us as artificial,” Alfaro concluded.

To contemplate the divinity in all creation

Arturo Reynoso, SJ, a professor at ITESO and coordinator of the event, described the connection between humanism and the humanities with the Jesuit educational ministry. His explanation began with the illustration of the Cardoner of St. Ignatius of Loyola, a fundamental mystical experience that inspired the religious figure to dedicate 12 years to his formation in order to develop his apostolic mission of service.

Around that time, in 1524, there was a conflict in Europe between intellectuals who adhered to the scholastic school and the humanists. In that atmosphere, Saint Ignatius of Loyola did not seek confrontation, but rather reconciliation between the contributions of both movements and, like Erasmus, a humanist philosopher, he had contact with the Brethren of the Common Life in the Netherlands.

The movement promoted by this religious community, the Devotio Moderna , “sought to have a deeper experience by delving into the knowledge of the humanity of Christ. [...] Ignatius will appeal to this and it will be one of the things he will include in his Spiritual Exercises,” Reynoso explained.

The academic referred, in particular, to the practice of Contemplation to Attain Love. This does not depart from the Christocentric dimension, but invites us to recognize divinity in all created things. “This anthropological synthesis, preceded by desire, freedom, responsibility, and even autonomy—because God does not decide for us—reflects the characteristics of the humanism embodied by Ignatius of Loyola,” he added.

To foster this experience, St. Ignatius integrated what he then called “humanities”—or the study of the human being—into Jesuit education and missions. In subsequent centuries, increasing difficulties arose in incorporating these subjects into schools, but Reynoso remains firm in his belief that all educational institutions of the Society of Jesus have the responsibility to offer an education that fosters the exercise of intelligence, the cultivation of the spirit, creativity, desire, sensitivity, and service to others through these subjects.

The alternative of creativity

The third speaker was Sara Baz, director of the Art Department at Ibero University in Mexico City. In a memoir-like manner, she recounted the moment in her childhood when she decided she wanted to be a scholar, all thanks to her father, a lawyer with a keen interest in Ancient Rome. “He drilled into my ears, repeating that I should study, study hard so I wouldn't have to work. [...] In his imagination, the only capital I needed to protect was my brain,” Baz said.

Later, in her teens, she decided that the only way to achieve erudition was to choose a career in the humanities. And so she did, earning a degree in Art History. However, something that disappointed her during her studies was the lack of courses that introduced her to "the ancient world" because it wasn't practical, as her professors told her.

Over the years, and now as an academic, she prefers not to approach her students' parents with the same discourse, but she does consult Jorge Volpi to find alternatives to the crisis in the humanities. From the Mexican writer, she borrows the concept of mimesis, which for her refers to the symbolic imitations that only humans can achieve.

“Mimicry is not imitation, as happens with animal species. It is not about becoming one with the environment to survive. [...] It is about exercising creativity, fantasy, imagination, and all these qualities despised by established science and by the extractivism of current academia,” Baz mentioned.
Artificial intelligence threatens this possibility. In response, the academic has replaced her commitment to scholarship with the inclusion of the humanities in her classrooms.