Discover the biography of José Ortega y Gasset, one of the most prominent philosophers in Spain. Intellectual, essayist, journalist, broadcaster? His liberal and regenerative discourse contained the essence of perspectivism and the purpose of life.
It belonged to the movement of the nineteenth century and the Generation of the XIV, where also appeared characters such as Pablo Picasso and Juan Ramón Jiménez.
- His most representative works.
- Such as Invertebrates Spain? (1921).
- “The Dehumanization of Art?(1925) and.
- Above all.
- “Rebellion of the Masses?” (1930).
- Describes a very interesting page of history: the social and intellectual situation in Europe in the mid-20th century.
- Century.
Ortega reflects the emergence of the masses expressed through art, civic values and a liberal philosophy like no other.
We cannot forget that this famous philosopher developed his work in a very complex context, the rise of communism faced fascism, trade unionism with nationalism and, in turn, with the working class, which was beginning to be heard through cultural movements and also consumerism.
“It’s me and my situation, and if I don’t save them, I don’t run away. “This very representative phrase of José Ortega y Gasset suggested the influence of this scenario, in which to assume that if the human being cannot control the circumstances that accompany his life, there is always a certain margin, a clean space where we can be responsible for ourselves and make changes.
“We have been given life, but it is not prepared” – Ortega and Gasset-
José Ortega y Gasset was born into a family that lived comfortably in Madrid in 1883, his mother was Dolores Gasset, daughter of Eduardo Gasset, founder of the newspaper Imparcial, where later his own father, José Ortega Munilla, served as director.
It was a house very close to philosophy, intellectualism, journalism and also politics, all this certainly did not make Gasset hesitate to define his personal journey. He studied philosophy and literature in Bilbao and then completed his studies in Berlin.
After graduating he began working as a professor of psychology and ethics, until in 1910 he was approved to be professor of metaphysics at the University of Madrid.
It was from 1920 that his life as an academic changed course, he founded the Journal of the West, a demanding and liberal publication, with the aim of bringing to Spain more innovative, more open than selective intellectual currents.
Subsequently, translations of new philosophical currents, such as Edmund Husserl and Bertrand Russell, arrived.
José Ortega y Gasset’s goal was as precise as it was high, he wanted to open his country to the air of renewal that was already instilled in Europe, he wanted people to wake up, rebel against conservatism.
“Life is a series of collisions with the future: it is not the sum of everything we were, but of what we want to be. ” – Ortega and Gasset-
Ortega y Gasset was elected deputy during the Second Republic and, together with Maraon and Pérez de Ayala, founded the Repeblica Service Group.
He held this position with great hope until, little by little, he began to feel certain differences with the mismanagement that, in his view, the Republic was following. However, all of that changed in 1936 with the Civil War.
He had no choice but to live in exile. They spent nearly 10 years seeking refuge in France, Holland, Argentina and Portugal.
His return in 1945 allowed him to find many like-minded intellectuals with which he could continue to work. In 1948, together with Julion Marias, he founded the Institute of Humanities.
From that moment on, his figure once again stood out in the Spanish cultural scene.
He has taught several courses in philosophy, published his liberal ideas in various newspapers, books and essays. He founded the newspaper El Sol (1917), the magazine Spain (1915) and the Magazine of the West (1923).
José Ortega y Gasset was a figure of undeniable relevance that then inspired the generation of 27, his legacy as an innovative intellectual, his personal ideas and philosophical principles crossed borders, reaching not only Europe, but also Latin America.
He died in 1955 at his home in Madrid at the age of 72
José Ortega y Gasset was linked to three fundamental currents. The first was the nineteenth century, a movement of cultural renewal, the second was perspectivism (a concept defined by Friedrich Nietzsche who proposed the idea that there is no unique truth, each has its own vision).
The third approach that determined his work was an idea developed by himself, was vitalism, an idea that assumes the inevitable correlation between the person and his reality.
These pillars were fundamental in writing one of his most representative works: “Rebellion of the Masses?(1930).
A fundamental aspect that can be seen on every page of “Mass Rebellion?”It is the end of conservatism and the beginning of something new that is not always as positive as you might think.
In this change that brings modern life, there are also several challenges that the person, the modern and seemingly free citizen, must understand.
? Mass Rebellion is a key work in the biography of the philosopher José Ortega y Gasset, from it arise many ideas that have not yet lost their validity, in fact, are very current and invite us to reflect on something that he wanted to convey. : if we act as gregarious groups, democracy itself will be threatened.
We are part of a historical and social context from which we cannot escape, yet we must separate ourselves from the masses that act instinctively, we must act as individual beings, responsible for ourselves and always attentive to those who want to veto our freedoms. .