Manuel Atienza was born in Oviedo (Spain) in 1951. His interest in literature, the Greek language and philosophy did nothing but light the way for which he was destined: Law.
He studied Law at Universidad de Oviedo and obtained his Doctor of Law degree in 1976. He served as professor in several Spanish universities and in other continents. He has made research stays in several universities, including Buenos Aires, Harvard, Genoa and Cornell. He has been conferred the title of Doctor honoris causa by Peruvian and foreign universities, and some of his works have been translated into French, Italian, Portuguese, German, Polish, and Russian.
He has managed to turn the department of Philosophy of Law at the University of Alicante into one of the most recognized centers for philosophy of law in the world. Since 1984, he has directed the important Doxa-Cuadernos de Filosofía del Derecho journal, in which philosophers of law from almost every country in Europe and America have contributed. He runs a postgraduate course in legal argumentation of great theoretical and practical importance.
On Friday, August 17, jurist Manuel Atienza was conferred the title of honorary professor by Universidad del Pacífico, in recognition of his career in the Spanish-speaking legal world, his relevance in research, but above all of his contribution to argumentation and legal philosophy.
Atienza presented the challenges of legal argumentation in the Juan Julio Wicht auditorium.
And precisely argumentation and deontology were the central themes of the master class conducted by the lawyer in the Juan Julio Wicht auditorium after receiving the medal from the President of Universidad del Pacífico, Elsa del Castillo.
Master class and other notes.
Legal argumentation is an expression of frequent use, which has made it "a legal fashion". However, for Atienza learning to argue has become an essential skill.
“Argumentation was always present. In law there was always a need to give reasons. In order to acquire that skill, it is necessary to learn a series of techniques and theories, and to devote extended effort to putting that knowledge into practice. You can not learn to argue without arguing", he reiterated.
At that point, Atienza stopped to point out that the use of the technique responds to certain purposes, but stressed that those must undergo moral scrutiny. In other words, Law handling must be in compliance with deontological standards.
Elsa del Castillo conferred Manuel Atienza the title of honorary professor.
She pointed out that “theory is important and helps, but sometimes we forget practice. Not only that, sometimes theory can get in the way. It is like good football referees: The best is the one that is not noticed”, she said.