101
- Identity: the
building blocks of
2. Literature
and philosophy
3. Art and
architecture
4. Performing
arts
5. Cinema
and fashion
6. Media and
communications
7. Food and drink 8. Living culture:
the details of
Krausismo:religion meets rationale
The 19thcenturyKrausismomovement was inspired
by (and named after) the German philosopher Karl
Christian Friedrich Krause, but found particular currency
in Spain because it gathered theology and modern
liberal thinking in one conciliatory bundle. Julián Sanz
del Río brought the concept back from Germany, laying
out the details in hisIdeal de la humanidad para la vida
(1860). God existed and was divine, that (he said) was
fair enough, but humanity was a key part of that divinity.
SoKrausismowas a bit like worshipping humanity,
recognising that man was in charge of his own affairs
and could find his own path to moral growth. It fitted
with the liberal ideas of the time, notably republicanism
with its thoughts on self-governance, and became a
dominant force in Spanish intellectual life from the
1860s right up to the 20thcentury. After Sanz del Rió set
out the terms, Francisco Giner de los Ríos became the
main protagonist ofKrausismo, in particular using
its principles for educational reform.
End of the century blues:
thinkers from the Generation of 98
TheGeneración del 98bore a clutch of intellectuals
preoccupied with Spain’s decline. Influenced by
Krausismo, they felt that man could find his own path
to reform. Many were writers who brought philosophy
to their work. In fact the 98ers’ two main thinkers,
José Ortega y Gasset and Miguel de Unamuno were
literary men (see section 2.1.5. for more on their writing
achievements). Ortega became the main Spanish
philosopher of the 20thcentury; perhaps the greatest
thinker Spain has yet produced. He had a talent for
Basque writer and
philosopher Miguel de
Unamuno mastered 14
languages. He apparently
learned Danish simply to
read Kierkegaard in his
original language.
Philosophy in government
In the early 1930s José
Ortega y Gasset was an
important player in Spain’s
short-lived Second
Republic. He was elected
to parliament as deputy
for León province, served
as civil governor of
Madrid and establishedLa
Agrupación al servicio de
la República, a clique of
parliamentary big-brains.
Disillusioned,
he actually withdrew
from politics within
about a year, but his
close association with
liberalism forced him into
exile in South America
when civil war broke out
in 1936.
