Damián Isern

Damián Isern y Marco (11 April 1852 – 27 October 1914) was a Spanish journalist and political theorist.

Biography

Damián Isern was born in Palma de Mallorca. He studied theology in his hometown, abandoning his studies. Later, he graduated in Law and Philosophy at the universities of Barcelona and Valencia. He moved to Madrid, joined the Carlist party and was editor of one of its main newspapers, El Siglo Futuro. Shortly afterwards, he left Carlism and El Siglo Futuro, becoming part of the so-called "mestizos" or mixed (Catholics in favor of accepting the system of the Restoration), and was director of the Pidalian newspapers La Unión and La Unión Católica, from which he maintained heated disputes with Carlists, Integrists and liberals.

He was a full member of the Royal Academy of Moral and Political Sciences since 1895 (the year he was elected and took office). He was elected several times as a member of the Spanish Parliament. He corresponded with Miguel de Unamuno, Ramón Menéndez Pidal, Joaquín Costa and José María de Pereda, the latter being close to his socio-political theses.

His most outstanding contribution to the regenerationist literature was his book Del desastre nacional y sus causas, published in 1899 and characterized for being "a diagnosis — according to José Luis Abellán — that is enclosed in its own pessimism, revealing the existence of a degenerate, decadent and corrupt society, as well as the causes that have led to such a depressing situation".

In Madrid, he lived on Calle de la Palma, in the Malasaña neighborhood. He deserved the respect of Leopoldo Alas "Clarín". Damián Isern died in the psychiatric hospital of Ciempozuelos.

Works

• El liberalismo (1883)
• De la Democracia, la Libertad y la República en Francia (1892)
• De las formas de gobierno ante la ciencia jurídica y los hechos (1892–93)
• Poesias latinas y tecnicismo prosódico (1893; with Miguel de Robles)
• De las evoluciones sociales y los métodos en la política (1895)
• Quadrado y sus obras (1896)
• Problemas y teoremas económicos, sociales y jurídicos (1897)
• Del desastre nacional y sus causas (1899)
• De la Defensa Nacional (1901)
• Ortí y Lara y su época (1904)
• La Santa Sede y la acción católica en Italia (1905)
• Las capitanías generales vacantes: el general Polavieja como militar y como hombre de gobierno (1907)
• "Pedagogia." In: Revista de la Instruccion Publica de Colombia, Vol. 23 (1908)
• "La religion y la ciencia." In: Revista de la Instruccion Publica de Colombia, Vol. 23 (1908)
• "De re sociologica." In: Revista de la Instruccion Publica de Colombia, Vol. 23 (1908)
• "Estado de la pedagogia en España." In: Revista de la Instruccion Publica de Colombia, Vol. 23 (1908)
• "La federacion hispana." In: Revista de la Instruccion Publica de Colombia, Vol. 24 (1909)
• "El metodo tuitivo y sus realidades de practica." In: Revista de la Instruccion Publica de Colombia, Vol. 24 (1909)
• Del espiritualismo escolástico y las ciencias experimentales

References

• Ramírez Jerez, Pablo (2014). "Pedro Gómez de la Serna y Damián Isern dos Baleares en la Real Academia de Ciencias Morales y Políticas," Memòries de la Reial Acadèmia Mallorquina d'Estudis Genealògics, Heràldics i Històrics, No. 24, pp. 127–43.

External links

• Damián Isern y Marco
• Historical Archive of Deputies (1810–1977)
• Works by Damián Isern at Biblioteca Virtual Miguel de Cervantes