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Showing posts with label George Santayana. Show all posts
Showing posts with label George Santayana. Show all posts

Thursday, December 3, 2009

"Realms of Being" by George Santayana,1927


..
There is no logical escape from skepticism ;
all of our philosophical beliefs are expressions of animal faith in something that makes sense out of experience.
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Since essences are merely characteristics considered in abstraction from things,
the leap from a consideration of essence to a belief in matter is a leap of animal faith.
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Truth is that part of the realm of essence which is realized in the material universe.
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Spirit,or conscious intelligence,
by going beyond the limits of the present in its operations makes possible a life of reason in which action is ordered for the satisfaction of animal impulse.
..

Monday, November 30, 2009

"The Life of Reason" by George Santayana,1905


..
The philosophy of history is an interpretation of man's past in the light of his ideal development.
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The life of reason,which gives meaning to history,is the unity given to existence by a mind in love with the good.
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By the use of reason man distinguishes between spirit and nature,
and comes to understand his own wants and how to satisfy them.
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Instinct which originally showed itself only in animal impulses takes on ideal dimension and leads man into service for society and God.
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Finally,in art,which is the imposing of form on matter,
but most of all in science,
which puts the claims of reason to the test of fact,
the life of reason reaches its ideal consummation.
..

Thursday, November 26, 2009

"The Sense of Beauty" by George Santayana,1896


..
Our preferences are ultimately nonrational ;
things are good because they are preferred.
.
Beauty is pleasure objectified ;
when a spectator regards his pleasure as a quality of the object he sees,
he calls the object "beautiful".
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Form pleases when in perception the excitation of retinal field produces a semblance of motion while the mind synthesizes the elements perceived.
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The aesthetic component "expression",
is the result of the emotional associations excited by contemplation of the aesthetic object.
..