Overview
José Ortega y Gasset (1883–1955) was Spain’s leading twentieth-century philosopher and essayist, founder of Revista de Occidente. Meditations on Quixote and The Revolt of the Masses diagnose modern culture and mass society. He taught in Madrid, went into exile during the Civil War, and returned later. Handbook dates: 1883–1955. “I am I and my circumstance” became his signature formula.
Main ideas
Life is the radical reality: self and circumstance co-define each other; salvation is through the circumstances. Perspectivism holds that each life opens a point of view on the world without collapsing into relativist chaos. Mass man demands rights without excellence, threatening liberal culture. Metaphor and vital reason grasp living truths beyond pure mathematized reason. Generations structure historical change. Europe needs a project beyond nationalist fragmentation.
Major works
- The Revolt of the Masses
- Meditations on Quixote
- What Is Philosophy?
- History as a System
Legacy
Ortega shaped Spanish-language philosophy, journalism, and debates on mass culture. Revolt of the Masses remains a European classic of cultural criticism. Phenomenological and existential themes enter Iberian letters through him.