This lecture will attempt to answer two questions: Why democracy? And which democracy? The background to these questions is the obscurity of its concept throughout the world and particularly in Latin America. An attempt to clarify the concept of democracy led Araos to its origins in ancient Greece. Researchers who have recently explored this path have successfully focused on the functional, productive, and economic value of democracy but did not get to the heart of the matter. Drawing on the myth of Prometheus and texts by Plato and Aristotle, this presentation acknowledges, contrary to their own interpretation, the deeper value of democracy in its ethical and anthropological core and indicates how some ancient concepts, practices, and institutions could be applied with great benefit in today's democracy.

Note: This lecture will be conducted in Spanish. Questions will be received in English and Spanish. 

Jaime Araos is a scholar of Greek philosophy, addressing issues in logic, metaphysics, and ethical and political philosophy related to democratic theory. His work explores the metaphysical and epistemological assumptions of liberal democracy, the role of tolerance in the modern state, and the crisis of representation in contemporary democracy. He has been a full professor of Philosophy at the Universidad de Chile, and the Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile and has been a recurring visiting professor at the Università degli Studi di Padova, Aix-Marseille Université, Universidad Complutense de Madrid, and the Graduate Program in Bioethics at Universidad de Chile, where he teaches Aristotelian Ethics. Professor Araos holds a PhD from the Universidad de Navarra as well as Master and Bachelor degrees from the Universidad Católica de Valparaíso. He has been awarded the President of the Republic Scholarship in his home country and has received eight research grants from universities in Europe and the USA. He has obtained fourteen research projects funded by international institutions such as AECI and the OAS, as well as national entities such as Fondecyt, the Vice-Rectorate for Research at UC, and the Research Directorate of UMCE. Additionally, he is the founder of the newly established Ibero-American Research Network on Current Thought. He is the author of over fifty specialized articles and six books, including The Philosophy of Language in Aristotle; Plato and Aristotle: New Perspectives on Metaphysics, Ethics, and Epistemology; Political Rationality, Public Virtues, and Intercultural Dialogue; Don't Learn Philosophy; Learn to Philosophize!; and Love of Wisdom: Studies in Metaphysics and Ethics, which have been translated into English.

He is currently a Tinker Visiting Professor at the Center of Latin American Studies at Stanford.