Ortega y Gasset: Life, Reason, and 20th-Century Spanish Thought
Ortega y Gasset: Key Ideas
Ortega y Gasset is one of the greatest philosophers of the 20th century. His philosophy has a clear pedagogical intention: to put his proposal at the service of culture and life. One phrase sums up his approach: “I am myself and my circumstance, and if I do not save it, I do not save myself.” The philosopher’s work is to understand and illuminate the situation. Ortega’s philosophy is practical, educational, and political.
The Vital Reason
We understand our circumstances through reason, which is born of life itself. Its use should help us live more fully. Pure rationalism must become vital reason, a reason intertwined with life and historical narrative. This link between reason and life is known as ratio-vitalism.
Life as the Fundamental Reality
Ortega’s philosophy revolves around life, understood not in a biological sense, but in a biographical one. Life is a series of characteristics:
- To live is to “realize”: Life is a lived experience, a feeling, a show.
- To live is to “meet the world”: The world is not just a physical place but a way of being with things.
- To live is to “find oneself living”: We don’t choose to live; we suddenly find ourselves alive.
- To live is to “decide”: Life is problematic and dramatic; we must constantly choose between possibilities.
- To live is to “be in time and be time”: Life is finite, and we must make decisions within the constraints of time.
Life as Perspective
Our view of things is always from a particular perspective. Knowledge is the integration of perspectives, avoiding both dogmatism and skepticism.
The Presence of Others
Ortega’s focus is on individual life, but it exists in relation to others, creating a complex web of relationships and sometimes conflict. Recognizing the particularity of others is crucial for ethics and responsibility.
Social Vitality and Politics
Society is dynamic, with generations rising and falling, advocating for different values. Ortega emphasizes the importance of creativity and effort in culture, rather than majority rule or political strategies.
Historical and Sociocultural Context
Historical Framework
Ortega lived through a turbulent period in Spanish history, including the loss of colonies, the reign of Alfonso XIII, the dictatorship of Primo de Rivera, the Second Republic, the Civil War, and the Franco dictatorship. These events deeply shaped his thought and his commitment to social and political reform.
Sociocultural Context
Spain at the turn of the 20th century was marked by slow industrial development, social inequalities, and the influence of the Church. Ortega belonged to the Generation of 1913, which sought to modernize Spain and overcome its pessimism. He advocated for educational reform and a more open and dynamic culture.
Philosophical Framework
Ortega’s philosophy emerged in dialogue with positivism, phenomenology, analytic philosophy, and Marxism. He sought to overcome the limitations of positivism by returning to past philosophies and integrating them with contemporary currents of thought.
Influences
Ortega was influenced by German philosophy, particularly neo-Kantianism, phenomenology (Husserl), the philosophy of life (Nietzsche, Dilthey), and existentialism (Heidegger). He also drew inspiration from Krausism and sought to Europeanize Spanish thought.
Impact and Legacy
Ortega’s impact was initially limited by the Spanish Civil War and the dominance of analytic philosophy and Marxism. However, his work gained recognition abroad, especially in Germany. Today, his legacy lies in his contributions to the debate on the crisis of modernity, his concept of reason, his critique of European rationalism, and his creation of Spanish philosophical terminology.