George Santayana (born Jorge Agustín Nicolás Ruiz de Santayana y Borrás, December 16, 1863 – September 26, 1952) was a Spanish-American

philosopher Philosophy ('love of wisdom' in Ancient Greek) is a systematic study of general and fundamental questions concerning topics like existence, reason, knowledge, Value (ethics and social sciences), value, mind, and language. It is a rational an ...

essayist An essay ( ) is, generally, a piece of writing that gives the author's own argument, but the definition is vague, overlapping with those of a Letter (message), letter, a term paper, paper, an article (publishing), article, a pamphlet, and a s ...

poet A poet is a person who studies and creates poetry. Poets may describe themselves as such or be described as such by others. A poet may simply be the creator (thought, thinker, songwriter, writer, or author) who creates (composes) poems (oral t ...

, and

novelist A novelist is an author or writer of novels, though often novelists also write in other genres of both fiction and non-fiction. Some novelists are professional novelists, thus make a living wage, living writing novels and other fiction, while other ...

. Born in

Spain Spain, or the Kingdom of Spain, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe with territories in North Africa. Featuring the Punta de Tarifa, southernmost point of continental Europe, it is the largest country in Southern Eur ...

, Santayana was raised and educated in the United States from the age of eight and identified as an American, yet always retained a valid Spanish passport. At the age of 48, he left his academic position at

Harvard University Harvard University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Founded in 1636 and named for its first benefactor, the History of the Puritans in North America, Puritan clergyma ...

and permanently returned to Europe; his last will was to be buried in the Spanish Pantheon in the Campo di Verano, Rome. As a philosopher, Santayana is known for

aphorism An aphorism (from Greek ἀφορισμός: ''aphorismos'', denoting 'delimitation', 'distinction', and 'definition') is a concise, terse, laconic, or memorable expression of a general truth or principle. Aphorisms are often handed down by tra ...

s, such as "Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it", and "Only the dead have seen the end of war", and his definition of beauty as " Pleasure objectified". Although an

atheist Atheism, in the broadest sense, is an absence of belief in the existence of deities. Less broadly, atheism is a rejection of the belief that any deities exist. In an even narrower sense, atheism is specifically the position that there no ...

, Santayana valued the culture of the Spanish Catholic values, practices, and worldview, in which he was raised. As an

intellectual An intellectual is a person who engages in critical thinking, research, and Human self-reflection, reflection about the nature of reality, especially the nature of society and proposed solutions for its normative problems. Coming from the wor ...

, George Santayana was a broad-range

cultural critic A cultural critic is a critic of a given culture, usually as a whole. Cultural criticism has significant overlap with social and cultural theory. While such criticism is simply part of the self-consciousness of the culture, the social positions o ...

in several academic disciplines.

Early life

George Santayana was born on December 16, 1863, in Calle de San Bernardo of

Madrid Madrid ( ; ) is the capital and List of largest cities in Spain, most populous municipality of Spain. It has almost 3.5 million inhabitants and a Madrid metropolitan area, metropolitan area population of approximately 7 million. It i ...

and spent his early childhood in Ávila, Spain. His mother Josefina Borrás was the daughter of a Spanish official in the

Philippines The Philippines, officially the Republic of the Philippines, is an Archipelagic state, archipelagic country in Southeast Asia. Located in the western Pacific Ocean, it consists of List of islands of the Philippines, 7,641 islands, with a tot ...

and he was the only child of her second marriage."George Santayana" at the ''Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy''
. Retrieved April 25, 2021 Josefina Borrás' first husband was George Sturgis, a Boston merchant with the Manila firm Russell & Sturgis. She had five children with him; two of them died in infancy. She lived in Boston for a few years following her husband's death in 1857; in 1861, she moved with her three surviving children to Madrid. There she encountered Agustín Ruiz de Santayana, an old friend from her years in the Philippines. They married in 1862. A colonial

civil servant The civil service is a collective term for a sector of government composed mainly of career civil service personnel hired rather than elected, whose institutional tenure typically survives transitions of political leadership. A civil service offic ...

, Ruiz de Santayana was a painter and minor

. The family lived in Madrid and Ávila, and Jorge was born in Spain in 1863. In 1869, Josefina Borrás de Santayana returned to Boston with her three Sturgis children, because she had promised her first husband to raise the children in the US. She left the six-year-old Jorge with his father in Spain. Jorge and his father followed her to Boston in 1872. His father, finding neither Boston nor his wife's attitude to his liking, soon returned alone to Ávila, and remained there the rest of his life. Jorge did not see him again until he entered

Harvard College Harvard College is the undergraduate education, undergraduate college of Harvard University, a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Part of the Harvard Faculty of Arts and Scienc ...

and began to take his summer vacations in Spain. Sometime during this period, Jorge's first name was anglicized to its English equivalent: George.

Education

Santayana attended

Boston Latin School The Boston Latin School is a Magnet school, magnet Latin schools, Latin Grammar schools, grammar State school, state school in Boston, Massachusetts. It has been in continuous operation since it was established on April 23, 1635. It is the old ...

and

, where he studied under the philosophers

William James William James (January 11, 1842 – August 26, 1910) was an American philosopher and psychologist. The first educator to offer a psychology course in the United States, he is considered to be one of the leading thinkers of the late 19th c ...

and

Josiah Royce Josiah Royce (; November 20, 1855 – September 14, 1916) was an American Pragmatism, pragmatist and objective idealism, objective idealist philosopher and the founder of American idealism. His philosophical ideas included his joining of pragmatis ...

and was involved in eleven clubs. He was founder and president of the Philosophical Club, a member of the literary society known as the O.K., an editor and cartoonist for ''

The Harvard Lampoon ''The Harvard Lampoon'' is an undergraduate Humor magazine, humor publication founded in 1876 by seven undergraduates at Harvard University in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Overview The ''Harvard Lampoon'' publication was founded in 1876 by seve ...

'', he joined one of Harvard's "Final Clubs", the Delphic Club, and co-founded the literary journal '' The Harvard Monthly''. In December, 1885, he played the role of Lady Elfrida in the Hasty Pudding theatrical ''Robin Hood'', followed by the production ''Papillonetta'' in the spring of his senior year. He received his A.B. ''

summa cum laude Latin honors are a system of Latin phrases used in some colleges and universities to indicate the level of distinction with which an academic degree has been earned. The system is primarily used in the United States. It is also used in some Sout ...

'' in 1886 and was elected to

Phi Beta Kappa The Phi Beta Kappa Society () is the oldest academic honor society in the United States. It was founded in 1776 at the College of William & Mary in Virginia. Phi Beta Kappa aims to promote and advocate excellence in the liberal arts and sciences, ...

. in 1886, Santayana studied for two years in

Berlin Berlin ( ; ) is the Capital of Germany, capital and largest city of Germany, by both area and List of cities in Germany by population, population. With 3.7 million inhabitants, it has the List of cities in the European Union by population withi ...

. He then returned to Harvard to write his dissertation on Hermann Lotze (1889). He was a professor at Harvard from 1889 to 1912, becoming part of the Golden Age of The Harvard University Department of Philosophy. Some of his Harvard students became famous in their own right, including Conrad Aiken,

W. E. B. Du Bois William Edward Burghardt Du Bois ( ; February 23, 1868 – August 27, 1963) was an American sociologist, socialist, historian, and Pan-Africanist civil rights activist. Born in Great Barrington, Massachusetts, Du Bois grew up in a relativel ...

, T. S. Eliot,

Robert Frost Robert Lee Frost (March26, 1874January29, 1963) was an American poet. Known for his realistic depictions of rural life and his command of American Colloquialism, colloquial speech, Frost frequently wrote about settings from rural life in New E ...

, Horace Kallen,

Walter Lippmann Walter Lippmann (September 23, 1889 – December 14, 1974) was an American writer, reporter, and political commentator. With a career spanning 60 years, he is famous for being among the first to introduce the concept of the Cold War, coining t ...

and Gertrude Stein. Wallace Stevens was not among his students but became a friend. From 1896 to 1897, Santayana studied at

King's College, Cambridge King's College, formally The King's College of Our Lady and Saint Nicholas in Cambridge, is a List of colleges of the University of Cambridge, constituent college of the University of Cambridge. The college lies beside the River Cam and faces ...

Later life

Santayana never married. His romantic life, if any, is not well understood. Some evidence, including a comment Santayana made late in life comparing himself to

A. E. Housman Alfred Edward Housman (; 26 March 1859 – 30 April 1936) was an English classics, classical scholar and poet. He showed early promise as a student at the University of Oxford, but he failed his final examination in ''literae humaniores'' and t ...

, and his friendships with people who were openly

homosexual Homosexuality is romantic attraction, sexual attraction, or sexual behavior between people of the same sex or gender. As a sexual orientation, homosexuality is "an enduring pattern of emotional, romantic, and/or sexual attractions" exc ...

and

bisexual Bisexuality is romantic attraction, sexual attraction, or sexual behavior toward both males and females. It may also be defined as the attraction to more than one gender, to people of both the same and different gender, or the attraction t ...

, has led scholars to speculate that Santayana was perhaps homosexual or bisexual, but it remains unclear whether he had any actual heterosexual or homosexual relationships. Some historians would disagree with this assessment. For example, Santayana's biographer concluded that he had "an intense physical affair" with Earl Russell, older brother to philosopher

Bertrand Russell Bertrand Arthur William Russell, 3rd Earl Russell, (18 May 1872 – 2 February 1970) was a British philosopher, logician, mathematician, and public intellectual. He had influence on mathematics, logic, set theory, and various areas of analytic ...

. The historian Douglass Shand-Tucci included an extensive discussion of Santayana's sexuality in his book on Boston's homosexual subculture in the late 19th century. In 1912, Santayana resigned his position at Harvard to spend the rest of his life in Europe. He had saved money and been aided by a legacy from his mother. After some years in Ávila,

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

and

Oxford Oxford () is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and non-metropolitan district in Oxfordshire, England, of which it is the county town. The city is home to the University of Oxford, the List of oldest universities in continuou ...

, after 1920, he began to winter in

Rome Rome (Italian language, Italian and , ) is the capital city and most populated (municipality) of Italy. It is also the administrative centre of the Lazio Regions of Italy, region and of the Metropolitan City of Rome. A special named with 2, ...

, eventually living there year-round until his death. During his 40 years in Europe, he wrote 19 books and declined several prestigious academic positions. Many of his visitors and correspondents were Americans, including his assistant and eventual literary executor, Daniel Cory. In later life, Santayana was financially comfortable, in part because his 1935 novel, '' The Last Puritan'', had become an unexpected best-seller. In turn, he financially assisted a number of writers, including

, with whom he was in fundamental disagreement, philosophically and politically. Santayana's one novel, ''The Last

Puritan The Puritans were English Protestants in the 16th and 17th centuries who sought to rid the Church of England of what they considered to be Roman Catholic practices, maintaining that the Church of England had not been fully reformed and should b ...

'', is a ''

Bildungsroman In literary criticism, a bildungsroman () is a literary genre that focuses on the psychological and moral growth and change of the protagonist from childhood to adulthood (coming of age). The term comes from the German words ('formation' or 'edu ...

'', centering on the personal growth of its

protagonist A protagonist () is the main character of a story. The protagonist makes key decisions that affect the plot, primarily influencing the story and propelling it forward, and is often the character who faces the most significant obstacles. If a ...

, Oliver Alden. His ''Persons and Places'' is an

autobiography An autobiography, sometimes informally called an autobio, is a self-written account of one's own life, providing a personal narrative that reflects on the author's experiences, memories, and insights. This genre allows individuals to share thei ...

. These works also contain many of his sharper opinions and ''bons mots''. He wrote books and essays on a wide range of subjects, including philosophy of a less technical sort,

literary criticism A genre of arts criticism, literary criticism or literary studies is the study, evaluation, and interpretation of literature. Modern literary criticism is often influenced by literary theory, which is the philosophical analysis of literature's ...

, the

history of ideas Intellectual history (also the history of ideas) is the study of the history of human thought and of intellectuals, people who conceptualize, discuss, write about, and concern themselves with ideas. The investigative premise of intellectual hist ...

, politics,

human nature Human nature comprises the fundamental dispositions and characteristics—including ways of Thought, thinking, feeling, and agency (philosophy), acting—that humans are said to have nature (philosophy), naturally. The term is often used to denote ...

, morals, the influence of religion on culture and

social psychology Social psychology is the methodical study of how thoughts, feelings, and behaviors are influenced by the actual, imagined, or implied presence of others. Although studying many of the same substantive topics as its counterpart in the field ...

, all with considerable wit and humour. While his writings on technical philosophy can be difficult, his other writings are more accessible and pithy. He wrote poems and a few plays, and left ample correspondence, much of it published only since 2000. Like

Alexis de Tocqueville Alexis Charles Henri Clérel, comte de Tocqueville (29 July 180516 April 1859), was a French Aristocracy (class), aristocrat, diplomat, political philosopher, and historian. He is best known for his works ''Democracy in America'' (appearing in t ...

, Santayana observed American culture and character from a foreigner's point of view. Like

, his friend and mentor, he wrote philosophy in a literary way.

Ezra Pound Ezra Weston Loomis Pound (30 October 1885 – 1 November 1972) was an List of poets from the United States, American poet and critic, a major figure in the early modernist poetry movement, and a Collaboration with Nazi Germany and Fascist Ita ...

includes Santayana among his many cultural references in '' The Cantos'', notably in " Canto LXXXI" and "Canto XCV". Santayana is usually considered an American writer, although he declined to become an American citizen, resided in

Fascist Italy Fascist Italy () is a term which is used in historiography to describe the Kingdom of Italy between 1922 and 1943, when Benito Mussolini and the National Fascist Party controlled the country, transforming it into a totalitarian dictatorship. Th ...

for decades, and said that he was most comfortable, intellectually and

aesthetic Aesthetics (also spelled esthetics) is the branch of philosophy concerned with the nature of beauty and taste, which in a broad sense incorporates the philosophy of art.Slater, B. H.Aesthetics ''Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy,'' , acces ...

ally, at

Oxford University The University of Oxford is a collegiate research university in Oxford, England. There is evidence of teaching as early as 1096, making it the oldest university in the English-speaking world and the second-oldest continuously operating u ...

. Although an

, Santayana considered himself an "

Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...

" and spent the last decade of his life in Rome under the care of Catholic nuns. In 1941, he entered a hospital and

convent A convent is an enclosed community of monks, nuns, friars or religious sisters. Alternatively, ''convent'' means the building used by the community. The term is particularly used in the Catholic Church, Lutheran churches, and the Anglican ...

run by the Little Company of Mary (also known as the Blue Nuns) on the Celian Hill at 6 Via Santo Stefano Rotondo in Roma, where he was cared for by the sisters until his death in September 1952. Upon his death, he did not want to be buried in

consecrated Sacred describes something that is dedicated or set apart for the service or worship of a deity; is considered worthy of spiritual respect or devotion; or inspires awe or reverence among believers. The property is often ascribed to objects (a ...

land, which made his burial problematic in Italy. Finally, the Spanish consulate in Rome agreed that he be buried in the Pantheon of the Obra Pía Española, in the Campo Verano cemetery in Rome.

Philosophical work and publications

Santayana's main philosophical work consists of '' The Sense of Beauty'' (1896), his first book-length

monograph A monograph is generally a long-form work on one (usually scholarly) subject, or one aspect of a subject, typically created by a single author or artist (or, sometimes, by two or more authors). Traditionally it is in written form and published a ...

and perhaps the first major work on

aesthetics Aesthetics (also spelled esthetics) is the branch of philosophy concerned with the nature of beauty and taste (sociology), taste, which in a broad sense incorporates the philosophy of art.Slater, B. H.Aesthetics ''Internet Encyclopedia of Ph ...

written in the United States; '' The Life of Reason'' (5 vols., 1905–06), the high point of his Harvard career; '' Scepticism and Animal Faith'' (1923); and '' The Realms of Being'' (4 vols., 1927–1940). Although Santayana was not a pragmatist in the mold of

Charles Sanders Peirce Charles Sanders Peirce ( ; September 10, 1839 – April 19, 1914) was an American scientist, mathematician, logician, and philosopher who is sometimes known as "the father of pragmatism". According to philosopher Paul Weiss (philosopher), Paul ...

, or

John Dewey John Dewey (; October 20, 1859 – June 1, 1952) was an American philosopher, psychologist, and Education reform, educational reformer. He was one of the most prominent American scholars in the first half of the twentieth century. The overridi ...

, ''The Life of Reason'' arguably is the first extended treatment of

pragmatism Pragmatism is a philosophical tradition that views language and thought as tools for prediction, problem solving, and action, rather than describing, representing, or mirroring reality. Pragmatists contend that most philosophical topics� ...

written. Like many of the classical pragmatists, Santayana was committed to

metaphysical naturalism Metaphysical naturalism (also called ontological naturalism, philosophical naturalism and antisupernaturalism) is a philosophical worldview which holds that there is nothing but natural elements, principles, and relations of the kind studied by ...

. He believed that human

cognition Cognition is the "mental action or process of acquiring knowledge and understanding through thought, experience, and the senses". It encompasses all aspects of intellectual functions and processes such as: perception, attention, thought, ...

, cultural practices, and

social Social organisms, including human(s), live collectively in interacting populations. This interaction is considered social whether they are aware of it or not, and whether the exchange is voluntary or not. Etymology The word "social" derives fro ...

institutions An institution is a humanly devised structure of rules and norms that shape and constrain social behavior. All definitions of institutions generally entail that there is a level of persistence and continuity. Laws, rules, social conventions and ...

have evolved so as to harmonize with the conditions present in their environment. Their value may then be adjudged by the extent to which they facilitate human happiness. The alternate title to ''The Life of Reason'', "the Phases of Human Progress", is indicative of this

metaphysical Metaphysics is the branch of philosophy that examines the basic structure of reality. It is traditionally seen as the study of mind-independent features of the world, but some theorists view it as an inquiry into the conceptual framework of h ...

stance. Santayana was an early adherent of

epiphenomenalism Epiphenomenalism is a position in the philosophy of mind on the mind–body problem. It holds that subjective mental events are completely dependent for their existence on corresponding physical and biochemical events within the human body, but d ...

, but also admired the classical

materialism Materialism is a form of monism, philosophical monism according to which matter is the fundamental Substance theory, substance in nature, and all things, including mind, mental states and consciousness, are results of material interactions. Acco ...

Democritus Democritus (, ; , ''Dēmókritos'', meaning "chosen of the people"; – ) was an Ancient Greece, Ancient Greek Pre-Socratic philosophy, pre-Socratic philosopher from Abdera, Thrace, Abdera, primarily remembered today for his formulation of an ...

and

Lucretius Titus Lucretius Carus ( ; ; – October 15, 55 BC) was a Roman poet and philosopher. His only known work is the philosophical poem '' De rerum natura'', a didactic work about the tenets and philosophy of Epicureanism, which usually is t ...

. (Of the three authors on whom he wrote in ''Three Philosophical Poets'', Santayana speaks most favorably of Lucretius). He held

Spinoza Baruch (de) Spinoza (24 November 163221 February 1677), also known under his Latinized pen name Benedictus de Spinoza, was a philosopher of Portuguese-Jewish origin, who was born in the Dutch Republic. A forerunner of the Age of Enlightenmen ...

's writings in high regard, calling him his "master and model". Although an

, he held a fairly benign view of religion and described himself as an "aesthetic Catholic". Santayana's views on religion are outlined in his books ''Reason in Religion'', ''The Idea of Christ in the Gospels'', and ''Interpretations of Poetry and Religion''. He held racial superiority and eugenic views. He believed superior races should be discouraged from "intermarriage with inferior stock".

Legacy

Santayana is remembered in large part for his

s, many of which have been so frequently used as to have become

cliché A cliché ( or ; ) is a saying, idea, or element of an artistic work that has become overused to the point of losing its original meaning, novelty, or literal and figurative language, figurative or artistic power, even to the point of now being b ...

d. His philosophy has not fared quite as well. He is regarded by most as an excellent

prose Prose is language that follows the natural flow or rhythm of speech, ordinary grammatical structures, or, in writing, typical conventions and formatting. Thus, prose ranges from informal speaking to formal academic writing. Prose differs most n ...

stylist, and John Lachs (who is sympathetic with much of Santayana's philosophy) writes, in ''On Santayana'', that his eloquence may ironically be the very cause of this neglect. Santayana influenced those around him, including

, whom Santayana single-handedly steered away from the

ethics Ethics is the philosophy, philosophical study of Morality, moral phenomena. Also called moral philosophy, it investigates Normativity, normative questions about what people ought to do or which behavior is morally right. Its main branches inclu ...

G. E. Moore George Edward Moore (4 November 1873 – 24 October 1958) was an English philosopher, who with Bertrand Russell, Ludwig Wittgenstein and earlier Gottlob Frege was among the initiators of analytic philosophy. He and Russell began de-emphasizing ...

. He also influenced many prominent people such as Harvard students T. S. Eliot,

, Gertrude Stein, Horace Kallen,

, Conrad Aiken,

Van Wyck Brooks Van Wyck Brooks (February 16, 1886 – May 2, 1963) was an American literary critic, biographer, and historian. Biography Brooks was born in Plainfield, New Jersey, in 1886 and graduated from Harvard University in 1908. As a student he publi ...

Felix Frankfurter Felix Frankfurter (November 15, 1882 – February 22, 1965) was an American jurist who served as an Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States from 1939 until 1962, advocating judicial restraint. Born in Vienna, Frankfurter im ...

, Max Eastman, and Wallace Stevens. Stevens was especially influenced by Santayana's aesthetics and became a friend even though Stevens did not take courses taught by Santayana. Santayana is quoted by the Canadian-American sociologist

Erving Goffman Erving Goffman (11 June 1922 – 19 November 1982) was a Canadian-born American sociologist, social psychologist, and writer, considered by some "the most influential American sociologist of the twentieth century". In 2007, '' The Time ...

as a central influence in the thesis of his famous book ''

The Presentation of Self in Everyday Life ''The Presentation of Self in Everyday Life'' is a 1956 sociological book by Erving Goffman, in which the author uses the imagery of theatre to portray the importance of human social interaction. This approach became known as Goffman's dramatu ...

'' (1959). Religious historian Jerome A. Stone credits Santayana with contributing to the early thinking in the development of religious naturalism. English mathematician and philosopher

Alfred North Whitehead Alfred North Whitehead (15 February 1861 – 30 December 1947) was an English mathematician and philosopher. He created the philosophical school known as process philosophy, which has been applied in a wide variety of disciplines, inclu ...

quotes Santayana extensively in his

magnum opus A masterpiece, , or ; ; ) is a creation that has been given much critical praise, especially one that is considered the greatest work of a person's career or a work of outstanding creativity, skill, profundity, or workmanship. Historically, ...

Process and Reality ''Process and Reality'' is a book by Alfred North Whitehead, in which the author propounds a philosophy of organism, also called process philosophy. The book, published in 1929, is a revision of the Gifford Lectures he gave in 1927–28. Wh ...

'' (1929).

Chuck Jones Charles Martin Jones (September 21, 1912 – February 22, 2002) was an American animator, painter, voice actor and filmmaker, best known for his work with Warner Bros. Cartoons on the ''Looney Tunes'' and ''Merrie Melodies'' series of shorts. He ...

used Santayana's description of fanaticism as "redoubling your effort after you've forgotten your aim" to describe his cartoons starring Wile E. Coyote and Road Runner.

In popular culture

Santayana's passing is referenced in the lyrics to singer-songwriter

Billy Joel William Martin Joel (born May 9, 1949) is an American singer, songwriter, and pianist. Nicknamed the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, Piano Man" after his Signature song, signature 1973 song Piano Man (song), of the same name, Joel has ha ...

's 1989 single " We Didn't Start the Fire". The quote "Only the dead have seen the end of war" is frequently attributed or misattributed to

Plato Plato ( ; Greek language, Greek: , ; born BC, died 348/347 BC) was an ancient Greek philosopher of the Classical Greece, Classical period who is considered a foundational thinker in Western philosophy and an innovator of the writte ...

; an early example of this misattribution (if it is indeed misattributed) is found in General

Douglas MacArthur Douglas MacArthur (26 January 18805 April 1964) was an American general who served as a top commander during World War II and the Korean War, achieving the rank of General of the Army (United States), General of the Army. He served with dis ...

's Farewell Speech given to the Corps of Cadets at

West Point The United States Military Academy (USMA), commonly known as West Point, is a United States service academies, United States service academy in West Point, New York that educates cadets for service as Officer_(armed_forces)#United_States, comm ...

in 1962.

Awards

* Royal Society of Literature Benson Medal, 1925. * Columbia University Butler Gold Medal, 1945. * Honorary degree from the University of Wisconsin, 1911.

Bibliography

*1894. ''Sonnets and Other Verses''. *1896. '' The Sense of Beauty: Being the Outline of Aesthetic Theory''. *1899. ''Lucifer: A Theological Tragedy''. *1900. ''Interpretations of Poetry and Religion''. *1901. ''A Hermit of Carmel and Other Poems''. *1905–1906. '' The Life of Reason: The Phases of Human Progress'', 5 vols. *1910. ''Three Philosophical Poets: Lucretius, Dante, and Goethe''. *1913. ''Winds of Doctrine: Studies in Contemporary Opinion''. *1915. ''Egotism in German Philosophy''. *1920. ''Character and Opinion in the United States: With Reminiscences of William James and Josiah Royce and Academic Life in America''. *1920. ''Little Essays, Drawn From the Writings of George Santayana, by Logan Pearsall Smith, with the Collaboration of the Author''. *1922.
Soliloquies in England and Later Soliloquies
'. *1922. ''Poems''. *1923. '' Scepticism and Animal Faith: Introduction to a System of Philosophy''. *1926. ''Dialogues in Limbo'' *1927. ''Platonism and the Spiritual Life''. *1927–40. '' The Realms of Being'', 4 vols. *1931. ''The Genteel Tradition at Bay''. *1933. ''Some Turns of Thought in Modern Philosophy: Five Essays'' *1935. '' The Last Puritan: A Memoir in the Form of a Novel''. *1936. ''Obiter Scripta: Lectures, Essays and Reviews''. Justus Buchler and Benjamin Schwartz, eds. *1944. ''Persons and Places''. *1945. ''The Middle Span''. *1946. ''The Idea of Christ in the Gospels; or, God in Man: A Critical Essay''. *1948. ''Dialogues in Limbo, With Three New Dialogues''. *1951. ''Dominations and Powers: Reflections on Liberty, Society, and Government''. *1953. ''My Host The World''

Posthumous edited/selected works

*1955. ''The Letters of George Santayana''. Daniel Cory, ed. Charles Scribner's Sons. New York. (296 letters) *1956. ''Essays in Literary Criticism of George Santayana''. Irving Singer, ed. *1957. ''The Idler and His Works, and Other Essays''. Daniel Cory, ed. *1967. ''The Genteel Tradition: Nine Essays by George Santayana''. Douglas L. Wilson, ed. *1967. ''George Santayana's America: Essays on Literature and Culture''. James Ballowe, ed. *1967. ''Animal Faith and Spiritual Life: Previously Unpublished and Uncollected Writings by George Santayana With Critical Essays on His Thought''. John Lachs, ed. *1968. ''Santayana on America: Essays, Notes, and Letters on American Life, Literature, and Philosophy''. Richard Colton Lyon, ed. *1968. ''Selected Critical Writings of George Santayana'', 2 vols. Norman Henfrey, ed. *1969. ''Physical Order and Moral Liberty: Previously Unpublished Essays of George Santayana''. John and Shirley Lachs, eds. * 1979. ''The Complete Poems of George Santayana: A Critical Edition''. Edited, with an introduction, by W. G. Holzberger. Bucknell University Press. *1995. ''The Birth of Reason and Other Essays''. Daniel Cory, ed., with an Introduction by Herman J. Saatkamp, Jr. Columbia Univ. Press. *2009. ''The Essential Santayana. Selected Writings'' Edited by the Santayana Edition, Compiled and with an introduction by Martin A. Coleman. Bloomington: Indiana University Press. *2009. ''The Genteel Tradition in American Philosophy and Character and Opinion in the United States (Rethinking the Western Tradition)'', Edited and with an introduction by James Seaton and contributions by Wilfred M. McClay, John Lachs,

Roger Kimball Roger Kimball (born 1953) is an American art critic and Conservatism, conservative social commentator. He is the editor and publisher of ''The New Criterion'' and the publisher of Encounter Books. Kimball first gained notice in the early 1990s w ...

and James Seaton Yale University Press. *2021. ''Recently Discovered Letters of George Santayana / Cartas recién descubiertas de George Santayana'', Edited and with an introduction by Daniel Pinkas translated by Daniel Moreno, and a Prologue by José Beltrán.

''The Works of George Santayana''

Unmodernized, critical editions of George Santayana's published and unpublished writing. ''The Works'' is edited by the Santayana Edition and published by The MIT Press. * 1986. ''Persons and Places''. Santayana's autobiography, incorporating ''Persons and Places'', 1944; ''The Middle Span'', 1945; and ''My Host the World'', 1953. * 1988 (1896). '' The Sense of Beauty: Being the Outline of Aesthetic Theory''. * 1990 (1900). ''Interpretations of Poetry and Religion''. * 1994 (1935). '' The Last Puritan: A Memoir in the Form of a Novel''. *''The Letters of George Santayana''. Containing over 3,000 of his letters, many discovered posthumously, to more than 350 recipients. ** 2001. ''Book One, 1868–1909''. ** 2001. ''Book Two, 1910–1920''. ** 2002. ''Book Three, 1921–1927''. ** 2003. ''Book Four, 1928–1932''. ** 2003. ''Book Five, 1933–1936''. ** 2004. ''Book Six, 1937–1940''. ** 2006. ''Book Seven, 1941–1947''. ** 2008. ''Book Eight, 1948–1952''. * 2011. ''George Santayana's Marginalia: A Critical Selection'', Books 1 and 2. Compiled by John O. McCormick and edited by Kristine W. Frost. *'' The Life of Reason'' in five books. ** 2011 (1905). ''Reason in Common Sense''. ** 2013 (1905). ''Reason in Society''. ** 2014 (1905). ''Reason in Religion''. ** 2015 (1905). ''Reason in Art''. ** 2016 (1906). ''Reason in Science''. *2019 (1910). ''Three Philosophical Poets: Lucretius, Dante, and Goethe, Critical Edition'', Edited by Kellie Dawson and David E. Spiech, with an introduction by James Seaton *2023 (1913). ''Winds of Doctrine, Critical Edition'', Edited by David E Spiech, Martin A. Coleman and Faedra Lazar Weiss, with an introduction by Paul Forster

References

External links

Critical Edition of the Works of George Santayana
* * * * Includes a complete bibliography of the primary literature, and a fair selection of the secondary literature * ''

Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy The ''Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy'' (''IEP'') is a scholarly online encyclopedia with around 900 articles about philosophy, philosophers, and related topics. The IEP publishes only peer review, peer-reviewed and blind-refereed original p ...

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"George Santayana"
by Matthew C. Flamm

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''Overheard in Seville''
: Bulletin of the Santayana Society

: Spanish-English Blog about Santayana.
''LIMBO. BOLETÍN INTERNACIONAL SOBRE SANTAYANA''
Spanish-English Bulletin about Santayana

* * ttp://www.panarchy.org/santayana/manynations.html George Santayana, "Many Nations in One Empire"(1934) {{DEFAULTSORT:Santayana, George 1863 births 1952 deaths 19th-century atheists 19th-century American essayists 19th-century American male writers 19th-century American non-fiction writers 19th-century American novelists 19th-century American philosophers 19th-century American poets 19th-century Spanish male writers 19th-century Spanish novelists 19th-century Spanish poets 20th-century atheists 20th-century American essayists 20th-century American male writers 20th-century American novelists 20th-century American philosophers 20th-century American poets 20th-century male writers 20th-century Spanish male writers 20th-century Spanish novelists 20th-century Spanish philosophers 20th-century Spanish poets Alumni of King's College, Cambridge American atheists American autobiographers American ethicists American logicians American male essayists American male non-fiction writers American male novelists American male poets American memoirists American people of Catalan descent American skeptics Aphorists Atheist philosophers Boston Latin School alumni Deaths from cancer in Lazio Deaths from stomach cancer in Italy Epistemologists Former Roman Catholics Harvard College alumni The Harvard Lampoon alumni Harvard University Department of Philosophy faculty Materialists Metaphilosophers Metaphysicians Metaphysics writers Novelists from Massachusetts Ontologists Writers from Rome Phenomenologists Philosophers of art Philosophers of culture American philosophers of education Philosophers of history Philosophers of literature Philosophers of logic Philosophers of mind Philosophers of religion Philosophers of sexuality Spanish political philosophers Pragmatists Rationalists Social philosophers Spanish atheists Spanish autobiographers Spanish emigrants to the United States Spanish essayists Spanish ethicists Spanish male non-fiction writers Spanish male novelists Spanish male poets Spanish memoirists Spanish novelists Spanish people of Catalan descent Spanish poets Writers from Boston Writers from Madrid Burials at Campo Verano