Author: Martin Coleman Page 1 of 5

The critical edition of George Santayana’s Winds of Doctrine has been published by The MIT Press.

Winds of Doctrine presents six essays on modern philosophy and culture. The essays address a broad sweep of intellectual trends of the Spanish-born American thinker’s time. Topics include the secularization of American culture, the rise of religious modernism, major literary and philosophical figures, and the “genteel tradition” in American philosophy, the subject of Santayana’s final lecture in America and perhaps his best known essay.

The original Winds of Doctrine, published in 1913, was Santayana’s first book after his 1912 retirement and departure for Europe. Santayana had felt stifled at Harvard for some time, and his long-contemplated resignation from academia enabled to him think and write with a new freedom. Much later, Santayana remarked on the significance of that choice to step away: “In Winds of Doctrine and my subsequent books, a reader of my earlier writings may notice a certain change of climate . . . . It was not my technical philosophy that was principally affected, but rather the meaning and status of philosophy for my inner man.” The critical edition is introduced by Paul Forster (University of Ottawa), and edited by David Spiech, Faedra Weiss, and Martin Coleman.

Katarzyna Kremplewska’s George Santayana’s Political Hermeneutics (Brill, 2022) is a comprehensive study of Santayana’s political philosophy as found in Dominations and Powers (1951) and dispersed throughout his other works. Managing necessity and harmonizing diversity, negative anthropology, an Apollonian individualism and naturalistic humanism, are only a few of the interpretative categories used to elucidate the dense, ambiguous and ironic ruminations of Santayana and reveal their timeliness. Discussion of other thinkers—from Plato to Ricoeur—brings to light the essentially dialogical character of his work.

Daniel Pinkas, Daniel Moreno, and José Beltrán have published Recently Discovered Letters of George Santayana/Cartas recién descubiertas de George Santayana, which includes letters to Charles A. Loeser and to Albert von Westenholz. This edition gives both the original English language letters and Moreno’s Spanish translations. The letters, spanning fifty years in two centuries, document two important friendships in Santayana’s life beginning in his student days and continuing until his retirement in Europe. The letters offer details about Santayana’s travels, insightful comments about events of the day, and philosophical reflections; and they are a delight to read.

RECENTLY DISCOVERED LETTERS OF GEORGE SANTAYANA/CARTAS RECIÉN DESCUBIERTAS DE GEORGE SANTAYANA
DANIEL PINKAS, ED.; Traducción y notas de Daniel Moreno / Translated by Daniel Moreno; Presentación de José Beltrán / Prologue by José Beltrán: Introducción a cargo de Daniel Pinkas / And with an Introduction by Daniel Pinkas
(Biblioteca Javier Coy D’Éstudis Nord-Americans, 180, Universitat de València, 2021, 378 pp.)
ISBN: 978-84-9134-905-1

Ruth Derham’s Bertrand’s Brother: The Marriages, Morals and Misdemeanours of Frank, 2nd Earl Russell (Amberley Publishing, 2021) recounts the life of the close friend of Santayana’s youth Frank Russell. Santayana’s autobiography, Persons and Places (1944, 1945, and 1953) PDF EPUB, was an important source for understanding the life of Frank; and Derham’s engaging book, in turn, provides enlightening personal and cultural context for understanding Santayana’s life and his friendships with both Frank and his brother.