Dr Xavier Escribano, lecturer at the Faculty of Humanities at UIC Barcelona and coordinator and lead researcher of the interdisciplinary research group SARX: Research Group in Anthropology of Corporality (2021 SGR 567), has recently published his latest book, Vivir del aire, pensar la respiración. An expert in human corporality, Escribano presents an interdisciplinary anthropological reflection on breathing, developed in collaboration with twenty contributors, including university lecturers from both Spain and abroad.

This is his second book, following the publication of De pie sobre la tierra: andar, correr, danzar (Standing on the Earth: walking, running, dancing), a volume also closely linked to his research. “We always start from a significant aspect of our corporality—in this case, breathing. We can say that it is a fundamental axis connecting all levels of human existence. Breathing is present even before birth, and being born is intrinsically linked to breathing independently for the first time. Conversely, death marks the moment when we stop breathing, when we exhale our final breath,” explains Dr Escribano.

With this work—an entirely original contribution from a philosophical and anthropological perspective—the author addresses an aspect that has been widely examined from a medical standpoint but much less so from a philosophical, aesthetic, social, or even political angle. “It is worth discussing breathing beyond pathological conditions. It is a universal, profound, and fascinating phenomenon that deserves deeper reflection,” he argues.

Spanning over 400 pages, the book explores numerous aspects in which breathing plays a determining or fundamental role, yet often goes unnoticed simply because it is a basic physiological necessity. “For example, during the COVID-19 pandemic, we could not share the same air; we could not socialise. After the 9/11 attacks, breathing New York’s air carried health risks. Breathing connects us with the cosmos and with life itself. Breathing means bonding, connection, it means life,” the author concludes.

Published by Síntesis, the book features a foreword by Josep Olives, the first dean of the Faculty of Humanities at UIC Barcelona, as well as contributions from three faculty members: Abel Miró, Albert Moya, and Isabel Morales Benito.