"Llevamos muchos años diciendo que esto va a pasar" David Pastor Vico (ECI #165)

In El Círculo Independiente, Euprepio Padula welcomes David Pastor Vico to discuss philosophy at a time when it is perhaps needed more than ever. Faced with mass digitization, information overload, constant manipulation, and the loss of critical thinking, philosophy emerges not as an academic luxury, but as a practical tool for staying focused. And Vico presents this from the outset with a clear idea: the philosopher must be unsettling. The conversation revolves around Philosophy for the Skeptics, a book that originated in Mexico, the country where Vico lived for ten years and where his career as a philosopher truly began. There he wrote his first philosophical essay, a work that received an unusual reception for the genre. In a market where selling two hundred copies of a philosophy book can already be considered a success, exceeding ten thousand is almost an anomaly. This fact also helps us understand something deeper: there is a growing need for philosophy, even though we often don't know how to name it. The book begins with an essential question. Why have human beings been able to survive for 300,000 years? For Vico, the answer lies in trust. Trust is the pillar that enables ethics, coexistence, and communal life. We survive together because, in some way, we trust one another. The problem is that this trust is breaking down. In Mexico, he explains, he discovered that interpersonal trust levels were extremely low. In Spain, although somewhat better, they also paint a worrying picture. This brings us to one of the central ideas of the interview. A country where citizens trust their neighbors is democratically healthier, less corrupt, and more capable of reaching agreements. Vico cites the Scandinavian countries as an example, where interpersonal trust reaches very high levels, resulting in more stable political systems, less corrupt societies, and happier citizens. This isn't about idealizing, because problems exist there too, but about understanding that trust isn't naiveté; it's a moral foundation. Padula then raises the current geopolitical situation: Gaza, Ukraine, Iran, Trump, China, the crisis of liberal democracies. Vico responds with a mixture of sincerity and provocation. The worse things are for the world, the better it is for philosophy. Not because suffering is desirable, but because philosophy thrives in times of crisis. When easy answers run out, when self-help falls short, and when platitudes no longer suffice, a more robust way of thinking is needed. Philosophy has been offering that foothold for centuries. For Vico, what we are experiencing is not unexpected. Philosophers have been warning for decades about the society of the spectacle, the banality of evil, the trivialization of public life, and the decline of empires at their peak. The United States enters the conversation as a declining empire, and China as a power that will force Europe to ask itself uncomfortable questions. Even if our democratic system remains the best possible, it will have to be defended, rethought, or reformed. It is not enough to rely on its survival by inertia. The interview also grounds philosophy in everyday life. Vico insists that ethics is not an abstract discussion about good and evil, but rather the most practical aspect of philosophy. It helps us think about how we use social media, what part of ourselves we should protect, how we understand knowledge, and why happiness cannot be understood as an isolated individual goal. Happiness, he says, has been one of the fundamental driving forces of philosophy, not as a closed destination, but as a shared path. One of the most striking aspects of the book is its forward-looking dimension. Vico explains that philosophy needs history to anticipate society. In Philosophy for the Wary, he proposes three apocalyptic endings, and one of them, a pandemic, appeared in the book before the world experienced COVID-19. He presents it not as a prophecy, but as a historical reading. Pandemics, collapses, and crises are cyclical processes that repeat themselves if we are not able to observe carefully. The conversation concludes by looking to the future and to our children. Vico, the father of twins, admits that his greatest dream is for them to be happy. Padula asks him how one can raise children when contemplating apocalyptic scenarios. His answer is probably the most hopeful of the interview. He isn't raising victims of the problem; he's raising part of the solution. Philosophy, education, and critical thinking can sow the seeds of knowledge so that, when crises arrive, we know how to respond better. 03:30 Beginning a Philosopher's Career 06:50 Regaining Trust 09:30 Corruption and Mental Health in Northern Europe 14:30 Reflection on Current Events 19:50 How to Become a Philosopher 23:00 Gran Vico's Dreams