Ortega y Gasset’s Philosophy: Ratiovitalism, Perspective, and Social Critique
Ratiovitalism
This concept occupies the last stage of Ortega y Gasset’s life. It is a critique of pure rationalism, returning to vitalism to achieve a synthesis where reason and life are united. It denies Cartesian reason, which focuses on the analysis and synthesis of things. Each life is unique and characterized by pure change.
Critical Pragmatism
Ortega’s critical pragmatism focuses on verifying truth. He argues that truth cannot be reduced to a utilitarian standard in knowledge, as truth holds intrinsic value.
Critical Rationalism
While rationalism has some limitations, it is often unable to manage them. Truth, however, cannot be confined to the limits of reason. The rationalist view of reality is abstract and often fails to consider concrete things. Life and truth are temporal, though truth possesses an objective dimension.
Critique of Vitalism
Ortega criticizes those who reduce life solely to its biological aspects, failing to account for its richness. He argues that life and living beings are not exclusively the domain of biology.
Masses and Minorities
The concept of the ‘mass-man’ does not refer to the lower class, but rather to a type of person who feels entitled to rights without any corresponding duties. This individual, often called ‘wise ignorant,’ is immature and avoids facing problems or making decisions.
The minority, in contrast, prioritizes duties over rights. This group has a higher level of self-imposed requirements than the rest and strives to find solutions to problems independently. It represents excellence.
The mass is engulfing minorities. Individuals often succumb to its influence, thereby avoiding self-criticism. The mass then establishes its own society, creating its own laws and rules. Consequently, democracy cannot be applied equally in all fields.
The Subject and The ‘I’
Ortega criticizes Descartes’ ‘pure ego’ as mere thought and perception. He also disagrees with Kant’s ‘transcendental subject,’ which only accounts for the subject as the foundation of physical-mathematical science. Ortega views both as abstractions that fail to capture the real subject of life and circumstance. He proposes the idea of a historical subject, which requires a historical, rather than purely rational, analysis to be understood.
Point of View
Each subject possesses a unique point of view, shaped by their life situation, which precludes absolute knowledge of reality. Rationalism’s error was replacing the real ‘I’ with a ‘transcendental subject.’ Ortega develops his doctrine of perspective in chapters like “The Doctrine of the Point of View” within The Theme of Our Time, asserting that truth exists in a multitude of perspectives or viewpoints.
Perspective and Circumstance
The idea of perspective implies that every person, time, or public has access to truth, which is never complete, nor entirely false. This idea first appears in Meditations on Quixote, where Ortega states, “I am myself and my circumstance, and if I do not save it, I do not save myself.” The “circumstances” surrounding the ‘I’ include temperament, place, family, education, etc. The pure subject is an abstraction, as we cannot eliminate circumstances. Ortega sought to adapt Spanish thought to its circumstances and help overcome social, cultural, political, and intellectual backwardness.
Historical Reason
“Man has no nature, but history.” In history, our projects are at stake, and we prolong life by continuing projects left unfinished by those who came before us. This implies not a linear progress, as in Enlightenment thought, but rather a history that extends the possibilities of a life, a generation, or an era.