Ortega’s Philosophy: Reason, Reality, and Historical Thought
Ortega’s Philosophy: Reality and Perspectivism
José Ortega y Gasset’s philosophy posits that reality is a dynamic and changing co-existence of the self with the world. No one can claim absolute truths about the human condition for each subject. The alternative is Ortega’s perspectivism: every life is a point of view about the world, and there are as many points of view as individuals. What happens to the individual also impacts society and entire epochs. The whole truth can only be obtained by integrating all perspectives.
Ratiovitalism: Reforming the Concept of Reason
The development of issues leading to perspectivism naturally leads to ratiovitalism. This concept maintains that all reason is vital reason. Reason, therefore, refers to all acts that provide an account, particularly of vital events. Humanity has had to reinvent reason because, without it, we would feel lost in the universe. Reason is thus the instrument we use to reach the truth.
A concept of reason that forgets life cannot endure. For Ortega, the sole purpose of reason is not merely to reduce complex issues to simpler ones. Life is far more complex and varied than reason alone is able to cover. For Ortega, reason occupies a specific place within life itself. Thought is a function and a necessity of life. Vital reason helps us decide amidst the bewilderment man experiences when a plurality of possibilities opens before him. Vital reason serves as a guiding function amidst the confusion that is life.
Ortega identifies vital reason with historical reason. Historical reason is narrative reason. To understand anything human, one must trace its origins, observe its evolution, and understand its history.
Philosophy of History: Ideas, Beliefs, and Generations
Distinguishing Ideas and Beliefs
Ortega distinguishes between ideas and beliefs:
- Ideas are representations of reality, whether true or false. We can evaluate them, subject them to criticism, and examine them.
- Beliefs are representations of reality that are deeply ingrained within us, even if they haven’t consciously passed through our minds. They are often quite unconscious and are installed in us imperceptibly by social pressure.
For example, it is one thing to have thought about God and quite another to truly believe in God. To live and move within an idea is to believe. Ideas and beliefs, therefore, can be distinguished but not separated, as both belong to the same genre: a belief or an idea can transform into the other depending on its meaning in the subject’s life.
The Influence of Beliefs and Generations
What truly drives our lives are our beliefs and ideas. Beliefs are diffused throughout the historical moment to which we belong; they are installed within us and cannot be removed by the forces of reason alone, but rather by other ideas and beliefs. The states of beliefs and the times profoundly change. Individual life, like that of peoples or epochs, is a constant succession of beliefs, which signifies a continuous modification of historical fact and, therefore, a constant reform of the individual lives of people and their times.
Humanity must embrace historical reason to understand crises and belief systems. All these beliefs are certain interpretations of the world and life that exist in accord with us. The historical character of reason is expressed in the concept of generation. In every era, there is a set of beliefs and ideas. Each generation is a human group that possesses typical characteristics and attitudes, making them feel vital in a certain way. Some generations are distinguished from others by their character. Thus, the theory of generations serves to explain history.