Leonardo Polo Barrena, Full Professor , of the University of Navarra, died on the 9th at the age of 87. Professor Polo's philosophical thinking is one of the greatest and most profound intellectual enterprises of the second half of the 20th century. This is evidenced in many ways by the congresses held on his thought, the scientific journals on his Philosophy, the numerous books and articles in specialized journals, and 30 doctoral thesis on his scientific work.
Don Leonardo was a great academic. In the first place, because he dedicated his whole life to the University. Full Professor of History of the Philosophy of the University of Granada, where he spent two years; the rest of his time, since 1954, he carried out his fruitful work in Pamplona. School Two years later, when the School of Philosophy and Letters was erected, he was the first professor of Fundamentals of Philosophy and History of Philosophical Systems; uninterruptedly since 1956, professor of Philosophy; he also taught for several years teaching in the School of Communication, in the IESE and in the high school of business and Humanism; and many summers in universities in Peru, Mexico, Chile and Colombia.
He taught almost all the philosophical subjects of the different curricula; very few people -only true teachers- are capable of having that global vision of philosophical problems that allows them to explain, and in a brilliant way, more than one subject. The thousands of students who have listened to him are witnesses, perhaps in some cases recovered from their initial astonishment, of his novel approaches, of the depth of his explanations, never trivial.
Like the great masters, Don Leonardo was never repetitive in the exhibition of the topics, which was always a source of admiration for his colleagues and disciples. The professionals of the Philosophy will never thank him enough for his continuous proposals not to become small, not to be satisfied with a twilight thought, not to abandon the Philosophy, not to make a Philosophy not stiff, but flexible and alive; and that should always be done in dialogue, because the object - the truth - is not exclusive or private property of anyone.
An endearing person with a great sense of humor, he belonged to Opus Dei since his youth.