by José Ortega y Gasset

Philosopher, journalist, critic, and educator, José Ortega y Gasset (1883-1955) distinguished himself as one of the leading thinkers in early-twentieth-century Spain. Born in Madrid to two influential publishing families, he was educated in Spain and in Germany, where he pursued studies in philology and philosophy in Leipzig, Berlin, and Marburg. From 1910 to 1936 Ortega served as a professor of metaphysics at the University of Madrid, then went into voluntary exile before the outbreak of the Spanish Civil War (1936-39). He wrote prolifically, founding several journals, most notably Revista de Occidente (1923-36; Review of the West), which set out to introduce the best of current culture into Spain. Published nine years before his death, his Obras completas (1946; Complete Works) comprise 12 volumes of over 500 pages each. Of all his works, the one to reach the widest audience was his controversial La rebeli...