Santayana the philosopher : philosophy as a form of life / Daniel Moreno ; translated by Charles Padrón.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Moreno, Daniel, 1961- author.

Contributor:

Padrón, Charles, translator.

Standardized Title:

Santayana filósofo. English

Language:

English

Spanish

Subjects (All):

Santayana, George, 1863-1952.

Santayana, George.

Physical Description:

xxxiii, 195 pages ; 24 cm

Place of Publication:

Lanham, Maryland : Bucknell University Press, [2015]

Summary:

It has been claimed that George Santayana lacks a system while contradicting himself in outrageous ways. An attentive analysis of his complete oeuvre, however, reveals something else entirely. It is not easy to classify a thinker as a Platonic materialist, an ironic nihilist, a spiritual atheist, and a conservative without political commitment. But if one respects his own language, one discerns an astonishing, little-known Santayana whose philosophical leitmotif consists of: 1) detecting the numerous "false steps," logical and moral, supplied by the imagination when it confuses things due to names or feelings; 2) avoiding these illusions in such a way as to keep the spiritual door open; 3) recognizing and asking what causes humans to succumb to these mistakes and what precautions one can take to keep cognizant of them; and 4) proposing the radical distinction between essence and existence as an alternative, which leads him to distinguish four realms of being: essence, matter, truth, and spirit. An attempt has been made in this book to expand and clarify these questions. Book jacket.

Contents:

1 Philosophy as a Form of Life 1

Ironic Nihilism 1

Platonic Materialism 10

Spiritual Atheism 16

Apologia Pro Mente Sua 22

Classical and Modern Sources 24

Contemporary Philosophical Currents 27

Notes 37

2 Knowledge and Reality 41

The Golden Thread of Philosophy 41

A System of Philosophy 51

Scepticism and Animal Faith 53

Attaining the Heights of Skepticism 54

Descent from the Ultimate Skepticism 58

Realms of Being 61

Realm of Essence 64

Realm of Matter 69

Realm of Truth 73

Realm of Spirit 76

Santayana and Classical Philosophical Problems 80

Notes 90

3 The Social Warp 93

Political Philosophy from the Spirit's Perspective 93

On Liberalism and Democracy 97

Dominations and Powers 101

Dominations, Powers, and Virtues 103

Political Testament 106

Santayana and His Political Circumstances 110

Notes 120

4 Philosophy and Novel in The Last Puritan 123

A Philosophical Parable 123

Reality and Fiction 126

Lord Jim, Oliver, and Mario 130

Transcendentalism and Platonism 132

Santayana and Oliver: A Cervantine Crossroads 139

Notes 142

5 Spiritual Testament 145

Apollo and Dionysus 145

From the Life of Reason to the Spiritual Life 147

Spiritual Life from the Materialist Perspective 152

How to Live in Barbaric Times 156

The Idea of Christ as an Alternative 161

The Long Road Toward Union 167

Notes 173.

Notes:

Translated from the Spanish.

Includes bibliographical references and index.

ISBN:

9781611486551

1611486556

OCLC:

894625426