Reason in Common Sense

Life of Reason #1

by George Santayana

For most of the twentieth century the life of reason has been under attack from all Freudian psychology, Einsteinium relativity and Heisenbergian uncertainty, religious and drug-induced mysticism, and such 20th-century philosophy schools as linguistic analysis and existentialism. But reason is beginning to reassert its essential value, and readers are searching for those philosophical analyses that place a high valuation on reason and understand its importance. One of the most far-reaching of all books of this kind is George Santayana's monumental five-volume work The Life of Reason. In Reason in Common Sense, Santayana first proposes the theme that is central to all five volumes; reason cannot be restricted to the purely intellectual activities of man; it is, rather, a fusion of impulse and reflection, of instinct and ideation. In this initial volume, the author develops his theme with respect to common sense, bringing his wide-ranging intelligence to bear on such vital topics a experience, nature, intellect, wide-ranging intelligence to bear on such vital topics as experience, nature, intellect, language, abstract ideas, the practicality of thought, and human nature. In the course of his examination, he considers the contributions of such philosophers as Plato, Aristotle, Locke, Hume, Berkeley, and Kant; and he skillfully weaves together such diverse philosophical themes as naturalism, empiricism, skepticism, realism, and idealism.

Genres: Philosophy

Paperback

First published February 1, 1980

About the author

Philosopher, poet, literary and cultural critic, George Santayana is a principal figure in Classical American Philosophy. His naturalism and emphasis on creative imagination were harbingers of important intellectual turns on both sides of the Atlantic. He was a naturalist before naturalism grew popular; he appreciated multiple perfections before multiculturalism became an issue; he thought of philosophy as literature before it became a theme in American and European scholarly circles; and he managed to naturalize Platonism, update Aristotle, fight off idealisms, and provide a striking and sensitive account of the spiritual life without being a religious believer. His Hispanic heritage, shaded by his sense of being an outsider in America, captures many qualities of American life missed by insiders, and presents views equal to Tocqueville in quality and importance. Beyond philosophy, only Emerson may match his literary production. As a public figure, he appeared on the front cover of Time (3 February 1936), and his autobiography (Persons and Places, 1944) and only novel (The Last Puritan, 1936) were the best-selling books in the United States as Book-of-the-Month Club selections. The novel was nominated for a Pulitzer Prize, and Edmund Wilson ranked Persons and Places among the few first-rate autobiographies, comparing it favorably to Yeats's memoirs, The Education of Henry Adams, and Proust's Remembrance of Things Past. Remarkably, Santayana achieved this stature in American thought without being an American citizen. He proudly retained his Spanish citizenship throughout his life. Yet, as he readily admitted, it is as an American that his philosophical and literary corpuses are to be judged. Using contemporary classifications, Santayana is the first and foremost Hispanic-American philosopher.

Reviews

[Albert · Rating 2 out of 5]

The place you'll find the chestnut about history repeating itself. Really turgid prose. No one writes like this any more . . . thank God.