José Ortega y Gasset's Philosophy of Life and Times

Life as Radical Being-in-the-World

For Ortega y Gasset, life is not merely existence, but coexistence with the world. He uses reason to understand our experiences and find meaning in life. Ortega y Gasset summarizes the sense of life as follows:

1. Life is radical being.
2. To live is to find oneself in the world.
3. Living involves taking care of something.
4. Life is a continuous chore.
5. Life is a problem.
6. Living is being found.
7. Life is coexistence and cohabitation.

These categories of life are vital. Life is a continuous becoming. As Ortega y Gasset says, "man is not nature but history."

Man in Time and the Mission of Our Times

Man lives in a given time, and the task of our times is always a mission. Every era has its own way of life and its own tempo. Generations coexisting in time are contemporary in two senses:

1. They live in the same time.
2. They have the same age.

When these two dimensions disagree, rebellion against the established order can occur.

The Elite and the Masses

In Ortega y Gasset's time, society was composed of two types of people: the elite and the masses. The elite consists of individuals who create life projects and whose mission is to lead the masses. The masses, in turn, are meant to follow the directives of the elite.

Ortega y Gasset's Life and Historical Context

Born in 1883 in Madrid, Spain, into an educated bourgeois family, José Ortega y Gasset obtained a degree in Philosophy and Letters from the University of Madrid. He furthered his studies in German universities and later held the Chair of Metaphysics. His notable works include Meditations on Quixote, The Revolt of the Masses (a highly influential work in sociology and philosophy), What is Philosophy?, and The Origin and Epilogue of Philosophy.

Ortega y Gasset lived through four key epochs in Spanish history:

1. The Restoration Monarchy (ending with the dictatorship of Primo de Rivera).
2. The Dictatorship of Primo de Rivera (marked by economic development through public works but ultimately ending with Rivera's resignation).
3. The Second Republic (a period of democratic reforms where Ortega y Gasset served as a deputy, eventually giving way to political instability).
4. The Spanish Civil War (1936-1939) and its aftermath, during which Ortega y Gasset lived in exile.