Ortega's 'The Revolt of the Masses' and the Triumph of the New Man [Paperback]

Pedro Blas Gonzalez (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: March 1, 2007

This book is first and foremost a detailed and meticulous study of Ortega y Gasset's The Revolt of the Masses (1930). No other up-to-date books explore this thinker and his great work. Most importantly, the author demonstrates the relevance and importance of Ortega y Gasset's thought and his The Revolt of the Masses for today's world, showing, for instance, how Ortega's categories like "mass man" and "decadence," have been vindicated by today's spiritual, moral and cultural decay. This aspect of the book will perhaps be of major interest to the reading public. What Ortega argues for in his brief history of philosophy is something that he has otherwise made explicit throughout his work, mainly his conviction that strictly speaking philosophy as an activity or manner of thinking that faces naked reality, holistically, ended long ago with the ancient Greeks. All subsequent philosophical endeavors have been merely a rehashing or an academic commentary on the pre-existing philosophical canon. This latter activity he saw as pertaining to the history of philosophy, but he did not regard it as philosophy. Philosophy, as a vital and life-forging way of life, he argued, had played out its originality, and thus had run its course, long ago. With a glossary of special terms as used by Ortega, and with references to Albert Camus, Gabriel Marcel, C.S. Lewis, Friedrich Nietzsche, Josef Pieper, and others, this work is a fundamental tool for any student of Ortega, of existentialism, and 20th-century European philosophy. * Pedro Blas Gonzalez is Associate Professor of Philosophy at Barry University in Miami. His areas of specialization include Continental philosophy, specifically Phenomenology, Existentialism, and philosophical aspects of literature. His works include Fragments: Essays In Subjectivity, Individuality And Autonomy (Algora, 2005), and Human Existence as Radical Reality: Ortega's Philosophy of Subjectivity (Paragon House, 2005). Gonzalez holds a Ph.D. in Philosophy from DePaul University.

Editorial Reviews

Review

In this analysis of the social and political views espoused by Spanish philosopher Ortega y Gasset (1883-1955) in The Revolt of the Masses (1930), Gonzales (philosophy, Barry U., Miami) shows how his perspectives on 'mass man' and philosophy as a personal tool for living are still relevant. With references to the existentialists whom he influenced and a glossary of terms used by Ortega, this study should be of interest to students of modern philosophy. His works in English translation are listed. --©2007 Book News Inc. Portland, OR

Product Details

• Paperback: 212 pages
• Publisher: Algora Publishing (March 1, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0875864708
• ISBN-13: 978-0875864709
• Product Dimensions: 8.9 x 6 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #3,456,841 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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