Interpretations of Poetry and Religion (Barnes & Noble Digital Library)

By George Santayana

In 1900, Santayana’s assault on conventional pieties outraged contemporaries like William James. This first work of prose criticism asserts that “poetry is called religion when it intervenes in life, and religion, when it merely supervenes upon life, is seen to be nothing but poetry.” Santayana’s ideas continue to influence debates over science and religion.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Barnes & Noble
• Release date: Apr 26, 2011
• ISBN: 9781411450547

George Santayana

George Santayana, born Jorge Augustín Nicolás Ruiz de Santayana (1863–1952), was a Spanish-American philosopher, novelist, poet, and essayist. He is best known for his witty aphorisms, especially the phrase, “Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it.” Santayana was born in Spain, but was raised and educated in the United States. He attended Harvard College and later taught philosophy there. During this time he wrote many of his seminal philosophical works, including The Sense of Beauty, The Life of Reason, and The Realms of Being. In 1912, Santayana moved to Europe, where he devoted his life to writing both fiction and nonfiction.