Ortega y Gasset’s Philosophy: Vitalism, Historicism, and Context
I. Historical and Philosophical Context
1. The Problem in Spain
Inevitably, a reference to the Spanish question. After the defeat of 1898 in an unjust and unequal conflict with the U.S., Spanish society fell into pessimism, topically expressed by the Generation of ’98. The fate of philosophical work was a constant concern for these intellectuals. Ortega’s philosophy was oriented towards the Europeanization of Spain and assumed a rupture with the pessimism of ’98.
2. The Republican Solution
We must mention the Second Republic and the Civil War. Ortega was actively involved in criticizing the Spanish monarchy, especially since abandoning his professorship in protest against the dictatorship of Primo de Rivera in 1929. His article “The Berenguer Error” and his founding of the Association at the Service of the Republic are social exponents. Ortega made his position clear when he estimated that the monarchy, the country, would be politically reborn and would develop the modernization of the nation. The Republic did not meet his expectations, both due to the ineffectiveness of the parties and the inability to provide a common political project that aggravated Spain. All the confrontations between parties led to disillusionment. Ortega went into exile.
3. Vitalism and Historicism
In the second half of the nineteenth century, social science gained recognition due to technological results. While confronting science and philosophy, philosophical maturation occurred with Ortega y Gasset in the 20th century. Principles of two lines of thought resist scientific treatment: human life and its historical becoming. Life and history are located outside the range of elementary mathematics. Hypotheses of vitalism and historicism, closely allied to Ortega, were born.
A) Vitalism: Life as a center of speculation. These thinkers understand that life as such is not reducible to or explicable only by scientific physical-chemical processes. Authors like Nietzsche (opposition between Apollonian and Dionysian, opposed reason and life) and Bergson (developed from his reflections on evolutionary theories; life arises from a vital impulse) defended this view.
B) Historicism: Dilthey and Spengler aimed to provide a compression method of human historicity. These philosophers argue that human nature is essentially historical, so we cannot know what man is if we ignore what man has been. Philosophers have different opinions:
- Dilthey: Defended that the method of historical science must be based on understanding the uniqueness of each phenomenon.
- Spengler: Drew up a comparative morphology of world history, a philosophy of great cultures. History goes through birth, growth, maturity, and decline. The latest phase is characterized by a loss of vitality.
Ortega’s culture was influenced by both currents.
II. Relation with Another Personal and Critical Evaluation
1. Relation with Ferrater Mora
A) Ratio-vitalism and Integration: There is a similarity of intent between Ortega and Ferrater Mora. While Ortega’s ratio-vitalism strikes a balance between extreme philosophical positions, Ferrater Mora’s integrationism poses as a philosophical point to avoid the shortcomings of thought. It focuses on the human subject and its history and pays attention to natural reality.
B) The Metaphysical Question: Ferrater Mora differs from Ortega by providing a more all-embracing metaphysical problem, paying more attention to scientific research results. Unlike Ortega, he proposed a reality configured as a continuum of levels:
- Continuous Physical-Organic: Belongs to both physical objects and living creatures. Organisms are not separate realities from their physical-chemical structures. Living beings depend on a specific organization of physical matter, existing at both the physical-chemical and biological levels. Ferrater considers neurobiological processes a sub-level within this.
- Continuous Professional-Social: Although some organisms do not present social behavior, living organisms have relationships. This allows us to accept the existence of this plane.
- Continuous Social-Cultural: The cultural level arises when certain activities are organized by social organizations outside of their genetic species transmission.
In a nutshell, the various layers of reality constitute the entire universe. According to Ferrater, the cosmic explosion is a process of transformation of certain elements, although the entire universe seems to have no conceived plan. Finally, Ortega defines philosophy as the knowledge of the whole universe, but it had preferentially occupied itself with explaining a plot: life and historical development. For this reason, Ferrater Mora’s integrationism is presented as a metaphysical proposal that saves Ortega’s thought from this deficiency.