Showing results by author "George Santayana" in All Categories

In Reason in Art, Santayana explores the social and psychological origins of art. He examines its moral and ideal functions, its lapses into tastelessness, and the distinctive character of music, speech, poetry, and prose. The Spanish-born philosopher sees art as part of the broader human context, concluding that art prepares “the world to receive the soul and the soul to master the world.”

In dozens of books, magazine articles, and essays, George Santayana infused his philosophy with exquisite language, wit, and subtle humor, prompting, one authority to state that he "writes philosophy more beautifully than any other thinker since Plato". The Wisdom of George Santayana makes accessible both his ideas and his oft-quoted aphorisms on a variety of subjects including naturalism, creative imagination, and spirituality without dogma.

Democritus. Bring the Stranger, bring the Stranger. Let us see how he is put together. I smell one goodish ingredient, but the compound is newfangled, yes {sniffing), and ill mixed. Alcihiades. You can’t possibly scent him at this distance. Not even a dog could. For a Christian he is rather well washed. Democritus. Before you contradict an old man, my fair friend, you should endeavor to understand him. The Stranger might be as clean as a river-god, who cannot live out of running water, and I should not be prevented from discerning the odor of his thoughts.

This is a brief glimpse of the philosophy of Bertrand Russell by the distinguished thinker George Santayana, which is excerpted from the book Winds of Doctrine.