Ortega y Gasset: The Philosophy of Life and Vital Reason

Ortega's Philosophy: Understanding Life Through Reason

Ortega's philosophy is an attempt to understand life through reason. For him, philosophy is not merely an end, but a useful intellectual need to understand the 'why' of reality. It embodies a rebellious, nonconformist attitude, questioning what is 'given' and seeking its underlying causes. Its key features include: the imperative of autonomy, the principle of pantonomy, and theoretical knowledge achieved through expressible rational inquiry. This ontological task seeks essential truth through reason.

Critique of Past Philosophy: The Radical Reality of Life

The error of philosophy in the past, according to Ortega, lies in its inability to truly understand life. Realism erred by considering the object as a subject-independent reality. Idealism, another mistaken attitude, separates subject and object, repeating a similar error. Ortega posits the *radical reality of life*, which inherently includes the subject alongside the world. This forms the foundation of all life's realities. For Ortega, life is the ultimate reality, synthesizing both cosmic and personal realities. Thus, for him, life is what is fundamentally given to us.

Perspectivism: Knowledge and Truth

Ortega defends his theory of knowledge through different perspectives as the path to truth. All knowledge of reality is inherently perspectival, a specific point of view. There are countless distinct perspectives, each individual possessing their unique view of the world. Therefore, there is no single absolute truth; rather, the authentic truth is that which emerges from each subject's perspective. While absolute truth may be unattainable, expanding our understanding necessitates dialogue. Each perspective is necessarily related to a particular *circumstance*. This circumstance conditions and provides limited knowledge.

Human Existence: Circumstance and Vital Attributes

We are, essentially, circumstantial beings. The interaction between the self and its circumstances is fundamental, as famously stated: *"I am myself and my circumstances."* To understand life, we need to know its attributes or categories:

Attributes of Life:

• Living is being *found in the world*, existing within a specific circumstance.
• Life is *unexpected* and presents *possible problems* (an open project with various possibilities).
• Life involves *decision-making*, a range of possibilities that presupposes *freedom*.
• These possibilities are *limited by fact*.
• Ontologically, life is *change and plurality*.
• Epistemologically, there is *vital reason* (embodied reason, linked to life and history, meditative, reflecting life's structure) and *historical reason*.

Vital Reason and Ratiovitalism

This *vital reason*—an incarnate reason linked to life, meditative, reflecting the very structure of life, and intertwined with historical time—is responsible for understanding life (a concept Ortega termed *ratiovitalism*). It remains open to new horizons. Life encompasses not only thoughts but also feelings, and thus must be understood in its entirety. Ortega also posits an *extrahistorical reason* that anticipates and informs historical explanation, a reason that is *post-rational*. It is "ratio, logos, and rigorous concept," not an absolute panacea. This reason is mobile, like the ever-becoming reality, in man's never-ending project to learn.