Tragic Sense of Life

by Miguel de Unamuno

Book Overview

The acknowledged masterpiece of one of Spain's most influential thinkers. Between despair and the desire for something better, Unamuno finds that "saving incertitude" that alone can console us. Dynamic appraisal of man's faith in God and in himself.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0486202577
• ISBN13: 9780486202570
• Release Date: June 1954
• Publisher: Dover Publications
• Length: 368 Pages
• Weight: 0.86 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.7" x 5.4" x 8.0"

Customer Reviews

The Tragic Sense of Life.

_Tragic Sense of Life_ is a translation of _Del Sentimiento Tragico de la Vida_, originally published in 1913, by the Spanish (Basque) existentialist philosopher Miguel de Unamuno, translated by J. E. Crawford Flitch. This work is an important one in Spanish literature and offers an attempt to expound upon a uniquely Spanish philosophy (influenced in particular by for example Cervantes and his _Don Quixote). This is also an important existentialist work, which considers the interplay and contrast between faith and reason. Miguel de Unamuno (1864-1936) was a Roman Catholic Spanish intellectual who participated to some extent in the Basque nationalist movement (though he remained skeptical of Basque separatism) and was witness to the Carlist wars. Unamuno also lived through the fascist revolution in Spain and eventually came to oppose the Franco regime because of its brutality. Unamuno's life was one of profound religious crisis (perhaps brought on by the early deaths of his father and his son), and he attempted to resolve this crisis in his writings. However, despite the fact that Unamuno was and remained a Roman Catholic, he was heavily influenced by the Protestant Kierkegaard, and thus his work may be described as having a particularly "Lutheran" aspect to it. In particular, in his understanding of the relationship between faith and reason and in the place of individual autonomy within his philosophy, Unamuno's philosophy may be understood as "Lutheran". It is for this reason that his work was rejected by Catholics and eventually placed on the Index of Prohibited Books. Nevertheless, Unamuno was to remain a Catholic and to argue that the Spanish understanding was a profoundly Catholic one. Unamuno begins this work by noting that he writes for all Christian men and not just for Spanish Christians. Unamuno also reflects some on the Great War, and the sense of crisis which existed at the time and which underlay all the subsequent existentialist philosophies. The first chapter is entitled "The Man of Flesh and Bone", and it is here that Unamuno contrasts man in the abstract (man considered as humanity, man as the "reasoning animal", man as "homo economicus" and "homo sapiens") with the "man of flesh and bone". Indeed, in contrast to the idea of man as the "reasoning animal", Unamuno maintains that instead man is the feeling animal. Unamuno wittily observes, "More often I have seen a cat reason than laugh or weep. Perhaps it weeps or laughs inwardly - but then perhaps, and also inwardly, the crab resolves equations of the second degree." Unamuno considers the "Protestant" philosophy and God of Kant and contrasts this with the Aristotelian God of Catholicism. Unamuno also mentions Joseph Butler, the Anglican divine, and Cardinal Newman. Unamuno contrasts this with the philosophy of the Jewish Spinoza, a man suffering from "God-ache" for his refusal to believe in immortality. Indeed, the issue of immortality becomes Unamuno's central

Modern ethics---Felix Culpa!!

As a disclaimer, I must say this is probably my favorite book of all time, so once I start explaining it, I frequently tend to effusion. In the simplest terms, it is a book written by a man who wants to understand why he lives and why he dies. Miguel de Unamuno was a spanish philosopher and novelist, a part of the "generation of 1898," along with Ortega y Gasset and Pio Baroja among others. They are part of the Spanish Romantic movement and their main quest in their writings is for a sense of the individual as a representative of the universal. Unamuno in particular and in this book attempts to reconcile Christianity with Classicism, and does so through the characters of Don Quixote and Sancho Panza(of course). These two for Unamuno are symbols of human striving both for noble purpose, outside of one's own self (christianity) yet also for an almost pagan "immortality" through heroic reputation (classicism). Unamuno wants to live nobly and never wants to die. He loves the concept of suffering and redemption, both in the model of a Christ who redeems, and by our own actions in this world, by which we redeem ourselves. Unamuno is all about striving, in the most ethical way possible, to create yourself. In a way, he is a more humanistic Nietzsche. His will-to-power is tempered by his mediterranean/Spanish anarchical democratic sentiment. Whew. He's like a Spanish Walt Whitman. A Spanish William Blake. But really so much better than them. Nada menos que todo un hombre.You will like this book if you like:a) Shakespeare for his "philosophy"b) Don Quixote and Sancho Panzac) Nietzsche but are turned off by his German-nessd) philosophy that helps you exist but doesnt turn you into a whimpering sape) southern Spain; Cante Jondo; the deep mediterranean vibePS- He has a great "spiritual biography" of Quixote and Sancho Panza too but I dont think its translated into English. Its called "Vida de Don Quixote y Sancho" and is almost as good as this book.

A great book...

One of my favorite books in the field of philosophy. Unamuno seems to effortlessly cut through so much of the time-wasting academic drollery and nonsense that often clutters up this vital area of study. This isn't a philosopher getting lost in his own inane definitions and absurd mind games, this is the work of a man who lives to think, and thinks because he is in awe of life. Highly recommended to those who philosophize because they need to, not because they are trying to make other people think they are intelligent...

men of flesh and bone

Other reviewers have called this book "philosophy for real men." Unamuno begins with this assertion. He rejects the Socratic "Man" as a creature of thought and not of substance. "Soy un hombre de carne y hueso!" he says: "I am a man of flesh and bone."He works to provide the basis for a belief based on on reason, which he calls anti-vital, but on necessity. It is necessary for us, as men of flesh and bone, to believe that we can exist indefinitely. Reason tells us that we cannot. It is the confluence of these two beliefs that creates the tragic sense of life.This is one of the best and most important books I've read, and I'd recommend it to anyone capable of sitting down and reading it.

understandable philosophy

This book will answer your questions about the significance of life if there are answers. Some examples of his ideas: Belief in UFOs and a divinity are similar to the extent that there is another consciousness out there. Beware of believing in something that we all so desperately want to believe! Infinity and finiteness are both absurd notions if you ponder them a bit- if the Universe is infinite then how did it start. If it is finite then what happened just before if started? Our brains are simply limited. Fascinating stuff about the relationship between love and death! If you read one more book before you die- let it be this one.