Santayana and His "Hero"
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.1558/eph.v22i2.26141Keywords:
Spinoza, Santayana, God, moral relativism, blessedness, loveAbstract
The philosophy of George Santayana is best considered as a complement to that of Spinoza, to whom Santayana once referred as his “hero.” Like Spinoza, Santayana refused to accept any God steeped in revelation or mythology, yet he appreciated Spinoza’s wisdom in reclaiming the name of God non-anthropomorphically. For Santayana, God symbolizes a single “omnificent” natural power that transcends human understanding. Santayana went beyond his hero by striving to love not merely the real but also the ideal. We should view people and things in their greatest possible beauty, and love them with depth and passion.
References
Santayana, George. 1905. Reason in Common Sense. New York, Charles Scribner’s Sons.
———. 1910. “Introduction.” In Spinoza’s Ethics and De intellectus emendatione. Translated by Andrew Boyle, vii–xxii. London: Dent.
———. 1922. Soliloquies in England. London: Constable and Co.
———. 1936. The Last Puritan. New York: Charles Scribner’s Sons.
———. 1982. Reason in Religion. New York: Dover Publications.
———. 1987. Persons and Places. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press.
———. 1996. Ultimate Religion. Paper delivered at the Hague, 1932, and republished in Classic American Philosophers, edited by Max H. Fisch. New York: Fordham University Press.
Singer, Irving. 2000. George Santayana, Literary Philosopher. New Haven, CT: Yale University Press. http://dx.doi.org/10.12987/yale/9780300080377.001.0001
Spinoza, Baruch.1955. The Ethics. Unabridged Elwes Translation. New York: Dover Publications
Woodward, Anthony. 1988. Living in the Eternal: A Study of George Santayana. Nashville, TN: Vanderbilt University Press.
Yovel, Yirmiyahu. 1989. Spinoza and Other Heretics. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press.
———. 1910. “Introduction.” In Spinoza’s Ethics and De intellectus emendatione. Translated by Andrew Boyle, vii–xxii. London: Dent.
———. 1922. Soliloquies in England. London: Constable and Co.
———. 1936. The Last Puritan. New York: Charles Scribner’s Sons.
———. 1982. Reason in Religion. New York: Dover Publications.
———. 1987. Persons and Places. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press.
———. 1996. Ultimate Religion. Paper delivered at the Hague, 1932, and republished in Classic American Philosophers, edited by Max H. Fisch. New York: Fordham University Press.
Singer, Irving. 2000. George Santayana, Literary Philosopher. New Haven, CT: Yale University Press. http://dx.doi.org/10.12987/yale/9780300080377.001.0001
Spinoza, Baruch.1955. The Ethics. Unabridged Elwes Translation. New York: Dover Publications
Woodward, Anthony. 1988. Living in the Eternal: A Study of George Santayana. Nashville, TN: Vanderbilt University Press.
Yovel, Yirmiyahu. 1989. Spinoza and Other Heretics. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press.
Published
2015-04-17
Issue
Section
Articles
How to Cite
Spiro, D. (2015). Santayana and His "Hero". Essays in the Philosophy of Humanism, 22(2), 213–230. https://doi.org/10.1558/eph.v22i2.26141
