Ortega y Gasset: Vital Reason and Ratiovitalism
The Concept of Vital Reason
Life is not merely a thought about life, but stems from the fact that all reason is living. Life is not something static; it is a process, not to be understood by the logico-mathematical reasoning that builds the abstract theories that science uses. This is called a task that is life, and the perspective of reality has to make use of a historic and vital reason. Here is where Ortega introduces the concept of vital reason that replaces Cartesian pure reason. This integrates all the demands of life and makes it compatible with rationality.
Perspectivism and Historical Reason
Summarizing, the perspective maintains the multiplicity of possible views of reality, which must be unified from a single principle. This principle would be that in each outlook there is truth; truth is gradually reached as these views are merging. But to avoid relativism, it is also a reflection on history; reason is also a historical fact, as there is always a concrete history. Ortega rejects objectivism and skepticism, emerging as a solution through the synthesis of perspectives. He does not believe that truth is the same for everyone, nor that every truth belongs exclusively to each individual.
Ratiovitalism: Ortega's Mature Philosophy
Ratiovitalism is Ortega's mature philosophy, ranging from 1923 to 1955. With it comes the achievement of a balanced synthesis between culture and spontaneity, and between reason and life. Ratiovitalism derives from there: the system of vital reason. It creates a conception of the world to collect, critique, and correct both vitalism and rationalism.
The Dialectic Between Reason and Life
Ratiovitalism assesses rationality but is aware of its roots in the necessities of life, bringing it to life. Rationalism should not give up on life; the outside world does not exist without the mind, but the outside world is not merely my thought. It is a dimension between the world and the "I"; one cannot live without reason. Life is a radical and non-transferable reality and is thought to oppose the existing Cartesian thought that contrasted thought with extension.
Knowledge and Continuous Improvement
Man has thought and thinking; knowing means to be aware of what is essential and to discover one's ignorance and reality. This knowledge is in continuous improvement. We are determined to act and to be governed by thought; it needs reason. The dialectic between reason and life will allow for the characterization of ratiovitalism.