2024-10-09 18:27:00
On October 9, 1936, Alejandro Korn died.
The doctor, teacher and politician from Buenos Aires is considered the initiator of philosophical thought in Argentina.
Alejandro Korn was born on May 3, 1860 and was the first of the eight children of María Meyer and Carlos Korn, a German doctor and soldier exiled from Prussia and resident in the city of San Vicente, in Buenos Aires, fifty kilometers from the federal capital.
His father was an important promoter of the city’s development and Alejandro followed in his footsteps by starting medical studies at the University of Buenos Aires, graduating in 1882 specializing in psychiatry.
After practicing in small towns in Buenos Aires, he was appointed director of the then Melchor Romero Provincial Hospital, an 80-hectare hospital colony specializing in the treatment of mental illnesses.
Alejandro Korn did a lauded job as director for 18 years, laying the foundations of the first hospital of its kind in Argentina, a precursor also in Latin America.
In 1910 he founded the La Plata medical society, of which he was president. Korn had a strong connection to the capital Buenos Aires in his role as a university student, distinguishing himself as a high-ranking teacher and manager.
Alejandro Korn’s action in the Universities of Buenos Aires and La Plata was taken as a reference by student organizations that promoted University Reform throughout Latin America.
He is considered the main ideologue of the University Reform of La Plata and was elected reformist president of the University of Philosophy and Letters of Buenos Aires by student vote, a milestone for the time.
Philosophy occupied a central place in the life and work of Alejandro Korn, who devoted himself completely to the discipline above his medical work.
He is considered together with José Ingenieros the founder of philosophical thought in Argentina and part of the founding group in Latin America.
His reflections were mainly oriented to the study of values and freedom, highlighting his works “Creative Freedom”, from 1922, and “Axiology”, from 1930.
University reform and respect for the will of the people were the cornerstones of Korn’s reflections, who conceived philosophy as a way of thinking closely linked to the situation.
Among his many activities, Alejandro Korn distinguished himself in the practice of fencing and was manager of the Gimnasia de La Plata club. He was a leader of the Radical Civic Union and was affiliated with the Socialist Party.
He stands out as one of the “five wise men” of the city of La Plata, together with Florentino Ameghino, Juan Vucetich, Carlos Spegazzini and the poet Almafuerte.
His hometown, previously called “Empalme San Vicente,” has borne Alejandro Korn’s name since 1964.
He died on October 9, 1936 at the age of 76.
The story also makes news on Radio Perfil. Screenplay by Nicolás Ziccardi and voiceover by Pita Fortín.
from Profilo Radio
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