Andrés López de Medrano
Andrés López de Medrano (1780 – May 6, 1856) was a nobleman, educator, doctor, lawyer, journalist, poet, author, politician and the first enlightened philosopher of the Dominican Republic.
[3] In 1822, during the Haitian occupation of Santo Domingo, he emigrated to Venezuela, where he earned a bachelor's degree and graduated in the arts from the University of Santa Rosa de Lima in Caracas.
As Syndic of Santo Domingo, Medrano appears to have been the first to create a political party inspired by the ideals of "one man, one vote," challenging aristocratic discriminatory ideas that excluded Africans and the poor from participation.
[4] Creoles such as Manuel Caravajal and Andrés López de Medrano resented their minor positions within the colonial bureaucracy and felt abandoned by Spain.
[6] On 1 December 1821, Medrano supported the independence of the Dominican Republic with José Núñez de Cáceres, however this led to his imprisonment in Puerto Rico, where he settled in Aguadilla.
[7] According to Cruz Monclova, his appointment as Governor caused: "...great joy throughout the island, among friends, colleagues, and representatives, notably including a doctor from Santo Domingo named Andrés López de Medrano, who wrote very melodious prologues or congratulations to the Puerto Ricans for the appointment of His Excellency Governor and Captain General, Don Miguel de la Torre, in which among a hundred and more superfluous things, written in verbose and bombastic style.
[1] Thanks to his work Logic, the author and philosopher Don Andrés López de Medrano managed to significantly overcome the scholasticism in force during three centuries of colonial history.
[1] His work "Logic" was republished in 1956 in the Annals of the University of Santo Domingo, with a biographical note by historian Emilio Rodríguez Demorizi, who concludes by affirming that: "López de Medrano was one of those illustrious Dominicans whom the vicissitudes of the homeland sent to other shores, where they continued the tradition of Spain.
[2] The Logic of Don Andrés López de Medrano became not only the first book of philosophy written in Santo Domingo but also the first on which philosophical ideas of a modern nature are sustained and promoted.
[11] He frequently references John Locke and Étienne Bonnot de Condillac, showing a significant influence from these thinkers, and also mentions Descartes and Leibniz.
[11] Medrano's work is seen as a significant contribution to the development of modern philosophical thought in the Dominican Republic, blending empirical observation with logical deduction and rational analysis.
Medrano's approach uses empirical and rationalist methodologies, categorizing philosophy into rational, natural, metaphysical, and ethical disciplines and delineates the operations of the mind into sensations, judgment, reasoning, and method.
"[16] Medrano describes humans that express emotions through "cries of passions" and physical gestures ("contortions and violent agitations"), which represent the "language of action.
[19] To judge and determine the levels of credibility and authenticity of historians, Medrano assumed the following rules of critical art: "First, that their knowledge and probity be examined, demonstrated by their life, their books, and the congruence of the events they narrate.
[21] Fourth rule: the writer who adulterates the truth loses all credibility, and the same applies to those who are passionate about what they narrate and those who are overly concerned with style (attached to and worried about form).
[11] According to Dr. Julio Genaro Campillo Pérez, President of the Dominican Academy of History: Santo Domingo held a "tribute to the virtually unknown merit of a multifaceted man who was a philosopher, educator, doctor, journalist, politician, writer, and poet.
"[4]The Dominican Association of Philosophy (ADOFIL), the Salesian Antillean Library (BAS), and the Institute for Peace and Cooperation Studies (IEPC) initiated a committee to celebrate the Bicentennial of Medrano's Treaty of Logic in Santo Domingo.
[1] This commission rallied support from various Dominican state institutions, scientific, academic, and cultural organizations, as well as personalities from philosophical, historical, political, literary, and medical fields, culminating in a celebration platform with presidential backing.
[25] In 2014, efforts began to establish the Bicentennial Organizing Committee for the publication of Logic by Andrés López de Medrano, with contributions from three key institutions: the Institute for Peace and Cooperation Studies (IEPC), led by Dr. Román García; the Dominican Association of Philosophy (ADOFIL), led by Dr. Julio Minaya; and the Salesian Antillean Library (BAS), represented by Father Jesús Hernández.
[26] The President of the Dominican Republic Danilo Medina tasked the Ministry of Culture, represented by Dr. Luis O. Brea Franco, to lead and support this national celebration.
Events in the Dominican Republic included a dedicated pavilion, the publication of Medrano's "Logic", and a series of conferences from April 28 to May 2, culminating in a congress in November coinciding with Philosophy Day.
[24] In Spain the Institute for Peace and Cooperation Studies and the Asturian Society of Philosophy organized an exhibition and lectures featuring works inspired by Medrano.
[24] Following the presentation of the book "Andrés López de Medrano: Image, Time, and Reality"[27] on June 16, 2017, at ARTMACÉN – Contemporary Painting, an exhibition continued until December 31.
Initially held in 2014 at the Principal Post Office Hall in Oviedo, it commemorated the Bicentennial of Medrano's "Treaty of Logic," the first book printed in Santo Domingo.
[4] The jurist, historiographer, and president of the Dominican Academy of History Julio Genaro Campillo Pérez[28] is the author of Dr. Andrés López de Medrano and His Humanist Legacy.
