George Santayana's and William James's Conflicting Views on Transcendence
This book studies the philosophical work of George Santayana and the nature of his work's relationship with that of American philosopher William James. James is consistently dismissive of “the ‘all is vanity’ state of mind,” which arguably represents the opposite of America’s activist, progressive ideals. The Spanish Santayana made the overcoming of vanity, or detachment central to his “vital philosophy,” which he had to gradually “disentangle” from the forces he found at work in America. This book, then, traces Santayana’s intricate response to James, from its earliest expression in Interpretations, to his later Realms. Rather than attempt to arrive at a final interpretation of either one’s philosophy, Antonio Rionda emphasizes what James refers to as the hotspot of each one’s thinking: James’s is best described as positivistic Existentialism, and Santayana’s as phenomenological intuitionism. Santayana’s post-Hegelian approach to doing philosophy allows for him to incorporate James’s major insights into his own thinking. The problem of how psychology relates to philosophy led Santayana to posit literary psychology as an alternative to its scientific variety, which once disentangled from James’s psychologism, represents the greatest virtue of James’s thinking.

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George Santayana's and William James's Conflicting Views on Transcendence
This book studies the philosophical work of George Santayana and the nature of his work's relationship with that of American philosopher William James. James is consistently dismissive of “the ‘all is vanity’ state of mind,” which arguably represents the opposite of America’s activist, progressive ideals. The Spanish Santayana made the overcoming of vanity, or detachment central to his “vital philosophy,” which he had to gradually “disentangle” from the forces he found at work in America. This book, then, traces Santayana’s intricate response to James, from its earliest expression in Interpretations, to his later Realms. Rather than attempt to arrive at a final interpretation of either one’s philosophy, Antonio Rionda emphasizes what James refers to as the hotspot of each one’s thinking: James’s is best described as positivistic Existentialism, and Santayana’s as phenomenological intuitionism. Santayana’s post-Hegelian approach to doing philosophy allows for him to incorporate James’s major insights into his own thinking. The problem of how psychology relates to philosophy led Santayana to posit literary psychology as an alternative to its scientific variety, which once disentangled from James’s psychologism, represents the greatest virtue of James’s thinking.

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George Santayana's and William James's Conflicting Views on Transcendence

George Santayana's and William James's Conflicting Views on Transcendence

by Antonio Rionda
George Santayana's and William James's Conflicting Views on Transcendence

George Santayana's and William James's Conflicting Views on Transcendence

by Antonio Rionda

Hardcover(2024)

$139.99 
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Overview

This book studies the philosophical work of George Santayana and the nature of his work's relationship with that of American philosopher William James. James is consistently dismissive of “the ‘all is vanity’ state of mind,” which arguably represents the opposite of America’s activist, progressive ideals. The Spanish Santayana made the overcoming of vanity, or detachment central to his “vital philosophy,” which he had to gradually “disentangle” from the forces he found at work in America. This book, then, traces Santayana’s intricate response to James, from its earliest expression in Interpretations, to his later Realms. Rather than attempt to arrive at a final interpretation of either one’s philosophy, Antonio Rionda emphasizes what James refers to as the hotspot of each one’s thinking: James’s is best described as positivistic Existentialism, and Santayana’s as phenomenological intuitionism. Santayana’s post-Hegelian approach to doing philosophy allows for him to incorporate James’s major insights into his own thinking. The problem of how psychology relates to philosophy led Santayana to posit literary psychology as an alternative to its scientific variety, which once disentangled from James’s psychologism, represents the greatest virtue of James’s thinking.


Product Details

ISBN-13: 9783031666001
Publisher: Springer Nature Switzerland
Publication date: 10/26/2024
Edition description: 2024
Pages: 227
Product dimensions: 5.83(w) x 8.27(h) x 0.00(d)

About the Author

Antonio Rionda has a Ph.D. in philosophy from the University of Miami, USA, and is an independent scholar working broadly in American Philosophy.

Table of Contents

Chapter 1: The Historical Imagination in Santayana and James.- Chapter 2: The Psychology of Religions in Varieties. Chapter 3: Spirit and Self-Transcendence in Santayana’s Philosophy.- Chapter 4: Santayana's Philosophical Conversion: Liberty in Exile. Chapter 5: Philosophy as a Form of Life in Santayana and James.- Chapter 6: Santayana's 'Grammar of the Spirit'.

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