The philosopher, theologian and translator died this Thursday at the age of 91, as reported by the entity that awarded him the 57th edition a year ago, the first to recognize a philosopher with this award. Professor at the Autonomous University of Barcelona (UAB) for 36 years, specialized in modern philosophy and philosophy of religion, he wrote a dozen essays on Kant, Pascal, Montaigne and Descartes, in addition to translating works by great thinkers of the modern period into Catalan and coordinating several titles on religious thought.
Pere Lluís Font (Pujalt, 1934), philosopher, theologian and translator, was a rigorous and academic person who focused his efforts and knowledge on enriching the Catalan university and the bibliography in Catalan of the main names of modern philosophy, translating Descartes, Kant, Montaigne, Spinoza and Pascal. For his version of Thoughts and pamphlets (Adesiara, 2021), an 800-page work by this latter philosopher and mathematician, earned the , awarded by the Ministry of Culture.
In addition to publishing a dozen books on philosophy and theology, collecting and contributing his vision of the thinkers he studied very meticulously; He also translated such relevant works as Discourse of the method of Descartes (Editions 62, 1996); Critique of practical reason of Kant (Editions 62, 2003) or Treatise on the amendment of understanding and Letters on evilby Spinoza (Editions 62, 1991). It worked until recently, as shown by last year’s publication of Essential poems by Joan de la Creu (Fragmenta, 2025) and the essay Natural philosophy (Editions de la Universitat de Barcelona, 2025).
Perhaps because of his daily exercise, Pere Lluís Font enjoyed the lucidity of a wise man until the end and in an interview in the after receiving the Premi d’Honor de les Lletres Catalanes, He remembered that the main objective of his career was to teach philosophy through its history. “The history of philosophy allows you to converse with the most lucid and original spirits in history, and one of the most extraordinary pleasures in this world is to understand and make people understand,” he stated, feeling happy to have dedicated himself to teaching.
Born in a small town in Pallars Sobirà, Pere Lluís Font, from a humble peasant family, studied as a seminarian at the Conciliar Seminary of La Seu d’Urgell. He himself said that he came to the seminary with the idea of being a chaplain, but he soon discovered “renewing ideas” that pushed him to travel to France. It was in Tolosa where he graduated in Philosophy and Theology, as a layman, as he pointed out. After seven years of studies and training he returned to Catalonia. In 1963 he joined Joaquim Carreras i Artau as assistant at the University of Barcelona, but with the creation of the UAB he moved to Bellatera in 1968. Until his retirement in 2004, he was a professor who worked with dedication. Like his beloved Kant, he always arrived to the classroom on time, dressed like the teachers of yesteryear, always in a suit and tie. Discreet, polite and affable, willing to share his passion for knowledge.
