Читать книгу Recently Discovered Letters of George Santayana. Cartas recién descubiertas de George Santayana онлайн

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It is hard to overstate the importance and usefulness of The Letters of George Santayana to Santayana scholars, wherever their focus of interest may lie. The more philosophical letters shed light, often in unexpected ways, on Santayana’s fundamental philosophical tenets: his materialism, his naturalism, his theories of essence and truth, his doctrine of animal faith, his ideal of the «life of reason» and his conception of the spiritual life; they are filled with mordant comments on the views of other philosophers, classical and modern. Many letters state his views on religion, science, literature, history, politics and current affairs. Obviously, the letters are full of crucial biographical information, sometimes sprinkled with delightful gossip. For a less specialized audience also, Santayana’s letters can be a wonderful source of information, inspiration and fun. They offer an unforgettable, and most enjoyable, opportunity to hear, so to say live, the unique voice of a supremely smart and wise philosopher who is at the same time, fully, a human being with a very distinctive history and intellectual background. Santayana’s flair for finding the most appropriate word is everywhere on display, from the briefest thank-you note to the most extensive metaphysical discussion.