On The Critical Edition of George Santayana's _The Life of Reason_

Abstract

In 1905–06, American philosopher George Santayana published the five books of The Life of Reason, confirming his reputation as a serious thinker. One hundred and ten years after The Life of Reason was completed, the Santayana Edition completed the critical edition of this work in 2016. The five books, Reason in Common Sense, Reason in Society, Reason in Religion, Reason in Art, and Reason in Science survey the history of ideas in their origin and significance as natural expression of human life. The aim is to determine what wisdom is possible for human beings and to articulate a vision of human life lived sanely. In Reason in Common Sense, Santayana described reason reason as impulse modified by reflection in harmony with past judgments. To live the Life of Reason is to perceive and pursue ideals such that the direction of conduct and the interpretation of sense promote natural human happiness. He ended the first book with a promise that “[t]o give a general picture of human nature and its rational functions will be the task of the following books” (LR1, 175). He sought to fulfill the promise by examining the human activities, endeavors, and institutions that constitute society, religion, art, and science and to give account of their place in the Life of Reason. The newly published critical edition establishes a text consistent with the author’s original intention and provides readers with a stable and reliable basis for interpretation.