1963-1967: First Philosophical Works and Teaching at the University of Granada
After finishing his doctorate, Polo prepared a series of publications based on the thick volume The Real Distinction (which he had written in Rome) as preparation for his application for academic positions at universities in Spain. Fruit of this work were El acceso al ser (The Access to Being) and El ser I (Being I), published in 1964 and 1966, respectively.
In The Access to Being, Leonardo Polo presents his idea of the mental limit (of objective thought) and develops it in dialogue and in contrast with Spinoza, Kant, Hegel, and Heidegger. He then announces his own philosophical proposal: that the mental limit can not only be detected, but that it can also be abandoned. Thus, Polo's philosophical methodology is not limited to simply discovering the limits of objective thought, but seeks to detect this limit in conditions such that it is possible to abandon this limit. This methodology, which Polo calls the abandonment of the mental limit, has four dimension that lead to the study of four different, but interrelated, thematic fields: (1) the study of the extra-mental existence; (2) the study of the extra-mental predicamental causes (extra-mental essence); (3) the study of human existence; and (4) the study of human essence as availing-of [disponer].
Starting from Access to Being, Polo planned a series of works that would cover these thematic fields. The first of these was to be Being I (on extra-mental being), followed by Being II (on the extra-mental essence of the universe), Being III (on the personal act of being), and Being IV (on human essence). Of these only Being I was published. The subject matter of Being II would eventually find its way into his Course on Theory of Knowledge (especially Volume IV) and those of Being III and IV would later appear as Transcendental Anthropology I and II.
Being I develops the first dimension of the abandonment of the mental limit which focuses on extra-mental existence. Here Polo develops a metaphysics based on a knowledge of first principles: created being as the principle of non-contradiction and as the principle of causality; and both of these distinct from, yet compatible with, the principle of identity, which is God the Creator. The study of these three principles as distinct, yet compatible first principles constitutes the central axioms of Polo's metaphysics.
The somewhat abrupt nature of the presentation of the topics in his first books, as well as their novelty baffled a public accustomed to a more scholastic style and a more "conventional" subject matter. Few accepted this new method for approaching important philosophical questions, and misunderstandings led many to brand him as a Hegelian or as lacking in "orthodoxy". Only a few sensed something of interest in Leonardo Polo's philosophy. The poor reception among philosophers of those years may be one of the reasons why Leonardo Polo did not publish other works that he had already planned (Being II and Being III), in which he was to develop his philosophy of nature and transcendental anthropology.
Leonardo Polo did not, however, abandon his philosophical project, but continued his efforts to draw out the consequences and implication of his philosophical methodology. Years later, in an interview, Polo would recall, "… to detect the limit and abandon it can be done or not. If it cannot be done, it seems to me that it would be difficult to remain a realist, not in the sense of coinciding intentionally with the truth, but rather in gaining access to extramental being, which does not form part of what is thought. This is how I saw it, and not as a matter of originality, but rather as having found something that had to be developed, and this was a very large undertaking, and since I had thought about it in Rome, I realized that it was work for an entire lifetime. Am I going to dedicate my life to this? If I do, I run a risk: at that time I was not capable of gauging all the implications of what this meant." (Polo, Conversaciones, pro manuscripto).
At another moment, he would comment: "one danger was that I would not succeed, or, if I were successful, that I would not be accepted by the community of philosophers, which meant I would be left unpublished; or, worse, publish and have no one understand (this second possibility has been almost entirely fulfilled). The second danger was to be mistaken, that is, to address an issue in such a way that later I would have to backtrack. Not so much that I would be left more or less shunned as an author, but that I would have to recant or gather together what already existed and burn it. This danger was especially serious when considering freedom as a transcendental, because it is clear that the idea of a transcendental linked with freedom appears in many modern thinkers. Thus, I could fall into those errors or be misinterpreted. A third danger was to be misunderstood; not that I would be mistaken, but that I would be the occasion for others being mistaken. Fortunately, this danger has not really materialized." (Polo, La libertad, pro manuscripto)
Although his first works were little understood, they, along with other academic work, helped him obtain a position as professor at the University of Granada in 1966. Leonardo Polo's qualifying magisterial lecture was focussed on notion of God in Meister Eckhart, who he considered as a precursor to Hegel.
In Granada, Polo continued deepening his knowledge of the history of philosophy and continued his philosophical reflections, often times using his classes as occasions to think through a variety of philosophical issues.
In The Access to Being, Leonardo Polo presents his idea of the mental limit (of objective thought) and develops it in dialogue and in contrast with Spinoza, Kant, Hegel, and Heidegger. He then announces his own philosophical proposal: that the mental limit can not only be detected, but that it can also be abandoned. Thus, Polo's philosophical methodology is not limited to simply discovering the limits of objective thought, but seeks to detect this limit in conditions such that it is possible to abandon this limit. This methodology, which Polo calls the abandonment of the mental limit, has four dimension that lead to the study of four different, but interrelated, thematic fields: (1) the study of the extra-mental existence; (2) the study of the extra-mental predicamental causes (extra-mental essence); (3) the study of human existence; and (4) the study of human essence as availing-of [disponer].
Starting from Access to Being, Polo planned a series of works that would cover these thematic fields. The first of these was to be Being I (on extra-mental being), followed by Being II (on the extra-mental essence of the universe), Being III (on the personal act of being), and Being IV (on human essence). Of these only Being I was published. The subject matter of Being II would eventually find its way into his Course on Theory of Knowledge (especially Volume IV) and those of Being III and IV would later appear as Transcendental Anthropology I and II.
Being I develops the first dimension of the abandonment of the mental limit which focuses on extra-mental existence. Here Polo develops a metaphysics based on a knowledge of first principles: created being as the principle of non-contradiction and as the principle of causality; and both of these distinct from, yet compatible with, the principle of identity, which is God the Creator. The study of these three principles as distinct, yet compatible first principles constitutes the central axioms of Polo's metaphysics.
The somewhat abrupt nature of the presentation of the topics in his first books, as well as their novelty baffled a public accustomed to a more scholastic style and a more "conventional" subject matter. Few accepted this new method for approaching important philosophical questions, and misunderstandings led many to brand him as a Hegelian or as lacking in "orthodoxy". Only a few sensed something of interest in Leonardo Polo's philosophy. The poor reception among philosophers of those years may be one of the reasons why Leonardo Polo did not publish other works that he had already planned (Being II and Being III), in which he was to develop his philosophy of nature and transcendental anthropology.
Leonardo Polo did not, however, abandon his philosophical project, but continued his efforts to draw out the consequences and implication of his philosophical methodology. Years later, in an interview, Polo would recall, "… to detect the limit and abandon it can be done or not. If it cannot be done, it seems to me that it would be difficult to remain a realist, not in the sense of coinciding intentionally with the truth, but rather in gaining access to extramental being, which does not form part of what is thought. This is how I saw it, and not as a matter of originality, but rather as having found something that had to be developed, and this was a very large undertaking, and since I had thought about it in Rome, I realized that it was work for an entire lifetime. Am I going to dedicate my life to this? If I do, I run a risk: at that time I was not capable of gauging all the implications of what this meant." (Polo, Conversaciones, pro manuscripto).
At another moment, he would comment: "one danger was that I would not succeed, or, if I were successful, that I would not be accepted by the community of philosophers, which meant I would be left unpublished; or, worse, publish and have no one understand (this second possibility has been almost entirely fulfilled). The second danger was to be mistaken, that is, to address an issue in such a way that later I would have to backtrack. Not so much that I would be left more or less shunned as an author, but that I would have to recant or gather together what already existed and burn it. This danger was especially serious when considering freedom as a transcendental, because it is clear that the idea of a transcendental linked with freedom appears in many modern thinkers. Thus, I could fall into those errors or be misinterpreted. A third danger was to be misunderstood; not that I would be mistaken, but that I would be the occasion for others being mistaken. Fortunately, this danger has not really materialized." (Polo, La libertad, pro manuscripto)
Although his first works were little understood, they, along with other academic work, helped him obtain a position as professor at the University of Granada in 1966. Leonardo Polo's qualifying magisterial lecture was focussed on notion of God in Meister Eckhart, who he considered as a precursor to Hegel.
In Granada, Polo continued deepening his knowledge of the history of philosophy and continued his philosophical reflections, often times using his classes as occasions to think through a variety of philosophical issues.