On the 170th anniversary of the unfortunate death of the venerable father Félix Varela y Morales (1788-1853), [1] ^- [2] I want to evoke the sacred memory of the Cuban educator, writer, journalist and patriot, through this succinct essay, whose fundamental objective —in addition to commemorating such a historic date— is to investigate a little-explored facet of the charismatic personality of the man who, according to José de la Luz y Caballero (1800-1862), "was the first who taught us to think" , and that together with José Martí (1853-1895) and Don Enrique José Varona (1849-1933) is one of the foundational stones of Cuban Psychology . [3]

This decision responds —basically— to factors of a cognitive-affective nature. For Psychology with an ethical-humanist approach, the behavior of the sovereign of creation has two fundamental motivations:

One superficial, which can be seen with the naked eye, and the other deep, which very few perceive, and which is born, grows and is consolidated in the spiritual component of the Freudian unconscious: "the most tender affection and respect" which, according to the Apostle, I am inspired by the egregious figure of that exceptional human being, for whom there is no praise worthy of him, at least in our mother tongue.

However, "rodents of the intellect and talent of others" - a phrase with which the founder of the newspaper Patria stigmatizes the envious, who exist in all times and in all times - tried to steal from Varela the title of first Cuban psychologist and made some mistakes about the apparent contradiction between science and faith, [4] which —according to his detractors— existed in the interior world of the holy priest. Criteria that distorted Varelian scientific thought and that generated, in the intellect and spirit of this chronicler, the dire need to amend the plan —an expression frequently used in journalistic slang .

In response to this distorted interpretation, I accepted the fact that Varela knew and disseminated the work of illustrious European thinkers, and that he formulated severe criticisms of the thesis of reflection or internal experience supported by John Locke (1632-1704). Judgments issued from eminently philosophical and not psychological positions, for the simple reason that, in the first half of the 19th century, Psychology had not yet become independent of the scio mater and until 1879 it would not break the filial link that united it to Philosophy. .

Therefore, Father Varela did not make any theoretical-conceptual contribution to the development of psychological science in our country, but, with the genius and ingenuity that characterized his creative and innovative thinking, he knew how to put psychological practice, derived from the exercise of his pastoral ministry —from which he never withdrew—, and his pedagogical experience, based on Christian spirituality, education and journalistic work, as will be explained later.

By the way, around the religiosity and spirituality of Father Varela , a sepulchral silence can be perceived in the critical approaches enunciated, which is only broken to point out apparent antagonisms between his theological and scientific thought, which only existed in the cerebral convolutions of those who —consciously or not— they decontextualize our great men and try to hide the historical truth, thereby forgetting an anthological phrase by Varela : «the lie can last for years; the truth overtakes her in an instant.” [5]

In line with this line of thought, it is argued that Father Varela "confronted" the Holy Fathers of the Church in matters of philosophy and science. Although it is true that he fought against scholasticism as a method, since it constituted a brake on the consistent development of philosophy, science and pedagogy, in no way did he attack it, he did not even question it -something that is perfectly understandable in a believer, whether priest or layman—the fundamental principles of the Christian faith, so deeply rooted in the mind and soul of the venerable father, and furthermore, the raison d'être of a life consecrated to God, to the Fatherland, to education and to the exercise of the revolutionary journalism. In short, Varela was always faithful to his theological-Christian formation.

Consequently, his attitude and behavior were consistent with the religious creed he professed and the humanistic positions he adopted, because the fact that he ardently defended the objective, practical, and experimental nature of science and technology does not mean that he embraced — necessarily—the materialist philosophy of that time, much less that he denied or renounced the Catholic faith.

Geniuses like Varela and Martí do not fit into any ideological pigeonhole, since their illustrious thinking is free like the wind and the flight of birds; and its connotation, repercussion and scope are universal and, therefore, the patrimony not of a people, but of all humanity.

Let us now see the objective-subjective criteria on which my reply to the pseudo-intellectual positions supported by the detractors of that “whole Cuban” —as the greatest poet of the great Latin American homeland qualifies him— rests.

At the time when the venerable father Félix Varela occupies the chair of Philosophy at the Seminary of San Carlos and San Ambrosio, maternal cloister of science, conscience, ethics, patriotism, culture, humanism and spirituality, Psychology had not managed to become independent of that branch of human knowledge, whose conceptual foundation was based on Aristotelian theories, which played a basic role in the context of teaching science that studies the most general laws, which interlink nature, society and human thought, both at the Seminary of San Carlos and San Ambrosio, as well as at the Royal and Pontifical University of San Gerónimo in Havana.

Thus, there is no doubt that Varela came to the knowledge of Psychology through two fundamental paths: Philosophy and Pedagogy. And while it is true that, at that time, the discipline in question had not broken the "umbilical cord" that linked it to Philosophy, the acute intelligence of the "wisest and most virtuous of Cubans" [6] understands —with crystal clear— three essential facts: psychological knowledge should be a function of Christian spirituality, of education; criterion synthesized in his anthological phrase "the one who teaches and the one who learns are only companions, the true teacher of man is nature [...]", [7] and of the journalistic exercise. The Letters to Elpidio, for example, become a treatise on journalistic ethics, and also master classes in child and adolescent psychology with a marked humanistic approach.

On the other hand, Varela warns —with the sagacity that distinguishes his creative and innovative thought— the intimate and close relationship between Psychology and Spirituality, as well as between Psychology and Pedagogy.

This is the precedent that, after the republican abortion of 1902, Psychology was included as a subject in the curricular design of the Normal School for Teachers and in secondary schools —today pre-university—, as well as in careers. universities of Pedagogy, Law and Philosophy and Letters, and the Psychology career was founded in 1946 at the Catholic University of Villanueva, and in 1956, at the José Martí Masonic University; private educational institutions, which disappeared in 1961 as a consequence of the Law for the Nationalization of Education, issued by the Cuban revolutionary government.

The concept of education developed by Father Varela : "show alternatives, paths or different options, so that the student decides which one to choose"; [8] the methodological premise that "the most interesting thing for the teacher must be to teach man to think from his earliest years, or rather, remove the obstacles that prevent him from thinking for himself"; [9] and the advice addressed to youth and teachers, and collected in his Letters from him to Elpidio , are reliable proof that Varelahe was able to base, not from the theoretical-conceptual aspect, but from the psychological practice, his fruitful teaching-educational work, and at the same time, clear the path that his most faithful disciples would later travel; executors of the intellectual and spiritual inheritance that one of our most distinguished educators will bequeath to humanity.

With the support of these theoretical-methodological conceptions, Dr. Nancy Luis Fernández, full professor at the Félix Varela University of Pedagogical Sciences in Villa Clara, believes that it is an essential requirement «[...] to penetrate the humanist essences [...] of the Varelian teaching profession , that vast set of [ethical] lessons that can guide us in many stages of life, and from which we still have much to learn.” [10]

According to the elements of judgment from which I outlined the relevant role played by the enlightened patriot in the context of Cuban Psychology , I have come to the conclusion that the science in question made a valuable instrument available to Varela , which it allowed us to discover —among other things— that the lever that moves the world is love and not hate; the truth and not the lie; justice and not injustice; goodness and not evil.

From these positions, consistent with his solid Christian and humanistic formation, and revealing per se of the true human essence, he fought without truce or rest for the freedom of Cuba and educated generations of Cubans of good blood in love for God and the Homeland. and good heart

For Dr. Armando Hart Dávalos (1930-2017), director until his death of the José Martí Cultural Society and the Martí Program Office, in Félix Varela , as well as in Don Enrique José Varona,

[...] the scientific form [rests on] the ethical foundation [on which it is structured, while in the Cuban prelate] a humanist thought [...] of universal value is present, in which diverse currents are articulated, [expression] of an identity that [serves] as sustenance [...]" to the pedagogical and psychological praxis developed in the classrooms of the Seminary of San Carlos and San Ambrosio, and built on "[...] the ethical transformation of man from development [ of their cognitive, human and spiritual capacities, through] education, science and culture. [eleven]

We find irrefutable proof of Varelian humanism in his philosophical aphorisms:

[…] my maxim is to think well of men»; therefore, "I have done nothing more than ensure that [...] they know each other [as well as] their situation, so that in a case that is by nature inevitable [the revolutionary outbreak and the abolition of slavery], they calm down passions, disasters are prevented, and the country obtains immense advantages, which make its current inhabitants happy, and its future generations […]”, and human beings are “[…] more rightly passionate when [they become] more exact thinkers. [12]

Based on the arguments outlined in the preceding pages, I am convinced that Psychology, as an applied science, helped Varela to understand, ennoble, and fulfill his historical mission as a social being; and consequently, it turned him into a free man, happy and fulfilled from every point of view, with an inexhaustible dose of faith and hope, whose lights he would never turn off, and a gigantic spirit of sacrifice, to face all sorts of misunderstandings, suffering or calamities. , that could separate him one iota from the fulfillment of what he internalized as his most sacred duties: God and the Homeland.

Lastly, I believe that Cuban psychology is in debt of gratitude to the venerable father Félix Varela , who —like the eagle— reached the pinnacle of our national culture and of our independence thinking, and whose "greatest miracle [according to Dr. Eusebio Leal Spengler (1942-2020), eternal Historian of Havana] is the Cuban nation […], which rises safe and sound from aggression and poverty». [13]

[1] Bishop Carlos Manuel de Céspedes. Passion for Cuba and for the Church . Madrid: Library of Christian Authors, 1998.

[2] Pearl Cartaya Cotta. The legacy of Father Varela . Mexico, DF: National Work of the Good Press, AC, 1998.

[3] Jesus Duenas Becerra. " Félix Varela , José Martí and Enrique José Varona": founding fathers of Cuban Psychology . www.cubaliteraria.cu (I will repeat later).

[4] Those interested in delving into the supposed science-faith contradiction that —according to his detractors— presented the venerable father Félix Varela , can usefully consult the essay by Dr. Roberto Méndez Martínez. « Félix Varela : an active spirituality at the service of society». New word. 2011; XIX (204): p. [35]-44 (Segment).

[5] Felix Varela . works . Havana: Editorial Cultura Popular, 1997: pp. 4-212 (volume III).

[6] Gaspar Jorge García-Galló. Historical sketch of education in Cuba . Havana: Editorial Pueblo y Educación, 1986: p. 30.

[7] Varela . Ob. Cit.

[8] Idem.

[9] Idem.

[10] Nancy Luis Fernandez. Quoted by Yoelvis L. Moreno, in «The sweet hope of the homeland». Rebel Youth. March 18, 2011: p. 5 (National).

[11] Armando Hart Davalos. Quoted by Monsignor Carlos Manuel de Céspedes, in Jorge Luis Acanda and Jesús Espeja (Eds.). Epilogue. Modernity, Atheism, and Religion . 2nd. Ed. Havana: Convent of San Juan de Letrán, 2005: p. 214 (Cycle of lectures given in the “Fray Bartolomé de las Casas” classroom).

[12] Maria Margarita Leon Ortiz. Thoughts of Felix Varela y Morales . Havana: Bachiller Editions, 2008: p. 79.

[13] Eusebio Leal Spengler. "The Cuban nation, safe and sound", in Memories of the Félix Varela International Colloquium . Ethics and Anticipation of the Thought of the Cuban Emancipation. Havana: Contemporary Image Editorial, 1999: p. 332.