Jose Ortega y Gasset: Philosophy and Beliefs in Spain

Ortega's Period

Ortega was born in Madrid in 1883 and died in 1955. He dedicated himself to his family and political journalism. He spent holidays in Zumaia and Azpeitia. Among his works is "Invertebrate Spain." He was the team director for "The Revolt of the Masses." In "The Revolt of the Masses," the mass-man is satisfied with mediocrity, without personality. In "Beliefs and Ideas," he commented on what we read here. Spain's main instability was during the Restoration, Primo de Rivera's dictatorship, the Second Republic, and the Civil War. The colonies of Cuba and the Philippines were lost, and there was a crisis in agriculture, the economy, and politics. This is called "the Crisis of '98." He was a fan of Neokantianism in the beginning and received Dilthey's historicism. He drank from different sources and carried out the synthesis between realism and idealism. The "Generation of '98" included intellectuals influenced by Spanish culture, marked by Ortega's pessimism.

Ortega's Thought

The role of philosophy is to help a good man who has lost his beliefs. Questioning, reasoning, and doubt had to be trusted to release him. Among other ideas, human beings need to know the coordinates of the world without distinction. Fitted with ideas that are present and aware of the needs of all, human beings begin to solve problems. But the notion of ideas, terminology for the treatment of multiple meanings that need to be certain for Ortega, resulted in two separate ideas: ideas-beliefs and ideas-thoughts.

Ideas-Beliefs

Our beliefs are those that we believe are the same, that are shown to us as essential reality constituents, that position us automatically in the world. We fully recognize the need to support them, and we do not even have to see them. We realize that we are not even fed them in religion. We could say that religion makes ideas and views for us. Religion is like the air we breathe. (We know that tomorrow the sun will give us light, or that outside the door of the house is the street). We have to get religion because it is quicker than we arrived. So are all members of a common social group. Human life is made up of certain beliefs. However, in addition to their individual beliefs, several are different but credible against themselves. To realize that there are, traditional religion loses its validity, faith in the ancestors expires. This is how the question arises. According to the beliefs of a failed system, one no longer trusts any religion.

Ideas-Thoughts