Library
Shortly before his death, Josep Ferrater Mora donated his private library to the Chair. The library contains 7,255 volumes and 156 titles of magazines, as well as the private papers, films and collected letters of the philosopher.
In January 1991 Ferrater Mora made public his decision to donate his personal library to the General Study of Girona, currently the University of Girona (UdG). The fund consists of 7,255 volumes that encompass philosophy, literature, cinema, religion, history and sociology; 156 titles of magazines covering equally diverse subjects, with notable presence of philosophy; and correspondence, consisting of 6,748 letters. In the spring of 1992, the books arrived from Bryn Mawr, Pennsylvania, and in the summer of the same year the cataloguing began, coinciding with the automation of the Catalogue of the Library of the UdG, which allowed for the maximum dissemination of this legacy.
This accessibility translates into a high index of loan requests from other institutions. This is also due to the characteristics of the fund, with first editions of major works in the history of philosophy, the complete works of philosophers from all periods and traditions and works collected from Ferrater Mora’s route in exile in Cuba and Chile and during his later stay as a professor at Bryn Mawr College from the late forties.
In the background, we can highlight the books related to philosophy, some 3,625, among which we find dictionaries in all languages, works by philosophers - from Abelard to Zubiri through to Ferrater Mora himself - and thematic works, such as the philosophy of knowledge, mathematical logic, the philosophy of mind and language, ethics, analytical philosophy, philosophical anthropology, nominalism, metaphysics, consciousness, subjectivity, relativism, pragmatism, and so on.
The collection is not, however, only important in philosophy, but also in works about language and literature, containing some 2,300 books, with numerous works by German, English, American, French, Spanish and Catalan authors. Among these last two groups, the works by Catalan and Spanish writers who lived and edited books in exile stand out. In smaller amounts we also find works on Portuguese, Russian, Polish, Greek and Latin classics, as well as studies on authors and works of literary theory and criticism.
The books on religion are also remarkable: atheism, theology, Buddhism and Chinese philosophy; sociology, law and education; some two hundred books on the history of science and mathematics, physics and geometry; cinema and photography; and others that deal with philosophy and the methodology of history.
Regarding magazines, most are concerned with philosophy (Cuban Magazine of Philosophy, Journal of Philosophy, Uruguayan Journal of Philosophy, Journal of the History of Philosophy, Papers of the Seminar of Philosophical Scientific Problems, Theorem, The British Journal for Philosophy Of Science or Phronesis: a Journal for Ancient Philosophy) There are also films (Avant-scène Cinéma, Filmmakers: Newsletter, Super 8 Filmmaker or American Cinematographer) and literature and humanities (Lettres Françaises, Revista de Catalunya, South, West Magazine, The Texas Quarterly or The Tower), and so on.
During cataloging, they were found as bookmarks, letters, addresses and cards from the same authors, annotations, newspaper cuttings and magazines with reviews, propaganda, leaflets, and so on, and have been preserved with a reference to the book from which they were extracted. Also remarkable and open to possible study are Ferrater Mora’s annotations in books, and the dedications that would draw his circle of relationships and friendships.
The Ferrater Mora Library is located in the legacy room of the Library of the University of Girona and is open to visits.
If you wish to find more detailed information about this library, read the text prepared by Joan Vergés Gifra entitled Short introduction to the Ferrater Mora Library (in catalana language) on the CD edition -ROM from the Ferrater Mora Library catalogue, published in 1999.
You can also read Josep-Maria Terricabras’s text (in catalan language) for the Presentationof the Ferrater Mora Library, and the description by Lourdes Oliva Callís (librarian of the UdG) of the Library and the Ferrater Mora Library’s cataloging and treatment process.
Below are some press cuttings about the donation made to this library when he died, its transfer and its inauguration.
Donation of the Library:
- “Ferrater Mora dona su biblioteca al Estudi General de Girona”. Diari de Girona, 30-1-91
- “Ferrater Mora dóna la seva biblioteca privada a l’Estudi General de Girona”. Diari de Girona, 30-1-91
- “Ferrater Mora dóna la biblioteca a Girona”. Punt Diari, 30-1-91
- “Ha mort Ferrater Mora”. Punt Diari, 31-1-91
- “Un gest final que dóna empenta a la seva Càtedra”. Punt Diari, 31-1-91
- “Ferrater Mora, que murió ayer en EE.UU, será enterrado en Barcelona”. Diari de Girona, 31-1-91
- “Ferrater Mora va morir ahir a Barcelona i serà enterrat als Estats Units”. Diari de Girona, 31-1-91
- “Mor Josep Ferrater Mora, un dels autors més influents de la filosofia contemporània”. Avui, 31-1-91
- “Una biblioteca de 9.000 volums donada a Girona”. Diari de Barcelona, 31-1-91
- “Fallece en Barcelona el filósofo y escritor catalán Josep Ferrater Mora”. El Observador, 31-1-91
- “Fallece el filósofo Josep Ferrater Mora”. El Periódico, 31-1-91
- “Ferrater Mora, filósofo”. El Periódico, 31-1-91
- “Fallece el filósofo Josep Ferrater Mora”. La Vanguardia, 31-1-91
- “Ferrater Mora”. La Vanguardia, 31-1-91
- “Fallece el filósofo Ferrater Mora”. La Vanguardia, 31-1-91
Transfer of the Library:
- “El Ministeri de Cultura col·laborarà en les obres de remodelació del Teatre Municipal: Solé Tura afirma que també costejarà en part el trasllat de la Biblioteca Ferrater Mora”. El Punt, 23-1-92
- “La biblioteca que Ferrater Mora va donar a l’Estudi General arribarà el mes vinent”. Diari de Girona, 23-1-92
Inauguration of the Library:
- “La Biblioteca Ferrater Mora s’inaugurarà divendres amb tots els volums catalogats”. El Punt, 10-11-92
- “La Biblioteca Ferrater Mora s’obrirà al públic dijous vinent”. Diari de Girona, 10-11-92
- “El llegat de Ferrater Mora ja es pot tocar”. Diari de Girona, 10-11-92
- “Inauguració de la Biblioteca Ferrater Mora”. El Punt, 11-11-92
- “La sessió ‘Històries i Impressions’ obre el cicle sobre els films de Ferrater Mora: al cinema-estudi Truffaut, dins la celebració de la inauguració de la biblioteca del filòsof”. Diari de Girona, 11-11-92
- “La Biblioteca Ferrater Mora rep 200 visites el primer dia”. El Punt, 13-11-92
- “Persones relacionades amb Ferrater Mora recorden la seva trajectòria vital”. El Punt, 13-11-92
- “Els films de Ferrater obren un debat sobre la funció del cinema”. Diari de Girona, 13-11-92
- “Terricabras diu que la Biblioteca Ferrater Mora ha de ser una eina oberta a la població”. El Punt, 14-11-92
- “Una taula rodona recupera el llarg itinerari de Ferrater Mora: ahir es va inaugurar la biblioteca del filòsof”. El Punt, 14-11-92
To access this fund exclusively, you will need to follow the instructions below:
• Access to the Catalogue
• Indicate corresponding location of the fund: Barri Vell. Fons Ferrater Mora
Many of the volumes of the Ferrater Mora Library are dedicated by their respective authors. These dedications allow us to reconstruct the philosopher’s network of relationships.
From the catalogue registers corresponding to each of the books you can access these dedications, which can also be consulted independently in a database linked to these registers:
Ferrater Mora signature