Krzysztof Piotr Skowroński

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Santayana on Aesthetics

17 June 2017 by Krzysztof Skowroński 1 Comment

Santayana on Aesthetics. Santayana was one of the first to teach aesthetics at an American university (the1892-93 course at Harvard, The Sense of Beauty being one of the results). He devoted three books and many papers and chapters on aesthetic themes, yet all his studies served him to create his own position (to be described in Santayana Guide’s Part 10: Aesthetics, Arts, and Literary Figures). His views on aesthetics, as on philosophy in general, stem from his own elaborated system of thought that combines the elements of naturalism, individualism, pragmatism, and Platonism. It is predominantly by means of the categories of his own aesthetics that he provides us with his interpretations in this field as well as on the arts, aesthetic perception, work of art, criticism, on many artists and philosophies of art. Hence, it is difficult to separate Santayana’s views on aesthetics from looking at aesthetics from his own perspective. Interestingly, Santayana was specific on having adumbrated, at least thematically, most of his plots before he developed them in his numerous publications (cf. Ahmore 1966, 25). His thoughts and ideas were implemented also in his own art, which is poetry, literature (he wrote two best-sellers), and criticism.

[Read more…]

Filed Under: Blog on Santayana, Disciplines Tagged With: Aesthetics, Santayana

Ávila, la ciudad de Santayana

29 September 2016 by Krzysztof Skowroński Leave a Comment

Mi excepcional experiencia filosófico-turística (y también gastronómica) tuvo lugar la semana anterior cuando estaba paseando por las calles de Ávila, la ciudad de Santayana, con dos santayanistas, Andrés Tutor y Pedro García Martín. Pedro, el residente de esta ciudad, es el autor del libro superinteresante El sustrato abulense de Jorge Santayana, publicado por la Institución ‘Gran Duque de Alba’ de la Excma. Diputación Provincial de Ávila en 1989. En el libro nos dice que Santayana “personifica todas las características típicas del topico abulensista (p. 14)”, que “quiso ver y tener en Ávila un punto de apoyo elevado – un ‘locus standi’ – desde el que asomarse el mundo (p. 15)” y que su filosofía se convierte “en un símbolo magistral del abulensismo (p. 17)”.

 

Filed Under: Español Tagged With: abulense, Santayana

My reflections on beauty and other issues in the film on Santayana

2 September 2016 by Krzysztof Skowroński Leave a Comment

part II below

This film is one of the results of the fifth conference on Santayana that was held in Berlin in July 2016

Filed Under: Reflections Tagged With: Education, philosophy, Santayana

Santayana’s Philosophy of Education Against Barbarism and Fanaticism

15 July 2016 by Krzysztof Skowroński Leave a Comment

This is the recorded version of my speech “Santayana’s Philosophy of Education Against Barbarism and Fanaticism” given at the 5th international conference on Santayana, entitled “The Life of Reason in the Age of Terrorism” within American and European Values-Berlin Edition series of conferences that was organized by Berlin Practical Philosophy International Forum e.V, in Berlin (July 11-14, 2016).

I am very sad that just hours after this lecture an act of terror took place on the streets of Nice, France. Below is a statement of the organizers of the “Life of Reason in the Age of Terrorism” conference:

 

Berlin Forum wishes to express our deepest sympathy for the families and friends of those who have been brutally killed and injured in the barbarian terrorist attack in Nice.

On this terrible occasion we do not want to forget similar acts of terror that took place at other places, including Istambul, Bagdad, Orlando, and, unfortunately, many more.

Tragedies like this leave us – philosophers, that is people who are dedicated in our job to do our best to understand – speechless, confused, and sad.

For last four days, we have been discussing the problem of terrorism during an international conference in Berlin. The Nice terrorism act erupted just hours after our conference.

Today, philosophizing and attempting to understand gives way to silence and compassion.

Filed Under: Reflections Tagged With: barbarism, Fanaticism, Philosophy of education, Santayana

Reflexiones en Alcalá de Henares

21 March 2016 by Krzysztof Skowroński Leave a Comment

Alcalá de Henares - Colegio Mayor de San Ildefonso 01.jpg

Pasear por las calles de la antigua parte de Alcalá de Henares provoca reflexiones. Especialmente cuando el objetivo de la visita del extranjero es dar clases de metafísica a los estudiantes complutenses en la lengua cervantina;  cuando uno se aloja en la residencia San Ildefonso, una de las más importantes obras del Renacimiento español y declarado Patrimonio de la Humanidad, con el “Patio de Filósofos”; cuando muy cerca está la casa natal de Cervantes, un convento reformado por Santa Teresa de Ávila, y las salas donde estudiaba San Ignacio de Loyola. La antigüedad se mezcla con la modernidad dandonos una riqueza enorme para penetrar y disfrutar más. De manera semejante comprendo el sentido de la metafísica – el tema, al menos a primera vista, terriblemente duro, pero si se trata este tema con simpatía y tolerancia, se puede convertir en un asunto importante para la gente normal y corriente. Eso es exactamente lo que intenté a hacer con mis estudiantes españoles: es decir, a demonstrarles que cuando estamos hablando sobre, por ejemplo, los valores no vale la pena ignorar las especulaciones que normalmente hacen los filósofos que se especializan en las cuestiones metafísicas. [Read more…]

Filed Under: Español, Reflections Tagged With: Nietzsche, philosophy, Santayana

Santayana on Values

25 January 2016 by Krzysztof Skowroński Leave a Comment

Santayana on Values. Although Santayana did not use such phrases as a ‘philosophy of values,’ ‘axiology,’ and ‘value theory,’ almost all his numerous works are full of references to the problem of values. He gives us, in his works, an answer to the question as to what is valuable, how values and the valuable emerge, and what constitutes the processes of evaluation. We can talk, then, about a need to reconstruct his philosophy of values or his theory of values, although he saw the practice of becoming a worthy person doing valuable activities much more important for a philosopher than producing a theory in an academic style; as Arthur Danto commented on the example of the value of ‘beauty’, Santayana “doubtless would have said that it is better to create beauty than to analyze it” (Danto xvi). [Read more…]

Filed Under: Blog on Santayana, Problems and Issues Tagged With: philosophy, Santayana, values

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