Democracy in the work of José Ortega y Gasset (1883-1955). From the ethical ideal to the political “ideal”.

Abstract

The following pages deal with the idea of ​​democracy in the work of José Ortega y Gasset (1883-1955), showing the turn that occurs in his thinking. From an ethical ideal or moral imperative, democracy came to be considered by the Spanish philosopher a political "ideal" in his work of intellectual maturity. In his youth, a Modern Ortega conceives democracy in an enlightened sense, that is, as an ideal, as a work of culture and as a moral imperative, showing his debt to Kant's practical philosophy, and linking the latter to the idea of ​​community (gemeinschaft), affirming in 1909 the following: socialization of culture, community of work, resurrection of morality: this means democracy for me. In a second moment, and since Ortega has lost his living faith in Modernity and in the ethical ideal of youth, he will begin to dialogue with the tradition of Western liberal political thought, conceiving democracy mainly as a rule of political law, thus as warning of their possible excesses or ravings.