José Ortegi y Gasset's evolutional anthropology

Na pub. autorka podpisana: Natalia Anna Michna

The article presents an outline of José Ortega y Gasset’s anthropology. Man and his life were the basic categories on which his thought was focused. His anthropology grew out of a critique of the views on human nature prevalent in Western philosophy. He criticized both Cartesian substance dualism and Kantian idealism. He believed that both of these philosophical traditions lack of a holistic approach to human being. He also thought that naturalism was unilateral and deprived human life of a spiritual element. He believed that the identification of man with mind, consciousness, or pure nature created a gap between man and his own life. The category of life was the primary point of reference in his anthropology. Ortega claimed that for each and every human being life means nothing other than surrounding circumstances. Man does not to have a permanent nature or essence, but only a unique history, which is the foundation of his identity and sets the directions for his further development.