José Ortega y Gasset was a well-known intellectual, writer and philosopher linked to noucentisme (a movement of cultural renewal that sought to break with the forms of the past), to perspectivism (there is no single truth but we each have our own vision of life) and to raciovitalism in an era situated between the moments before the establishment of the Second Republic and the Franco dictatorship.

Throughout his work, this author left profound reflections on various themes that would contribute and inspire many other later intellectuals.

In this article we will see a series of phrases by José Ortega y Gasset that allow us to understand part of his thought .

Phrases of José Ortega y Gasset

These are phrases by José Ortega y Gasset that speak to us about his philosophy and serve to reflect on the various themes that the author touches on throughout his life.

1. Love, which is painted blind, is sighted and perceptive because the lover sees things that the indifferent one does not see and therefore loves

Loving someone (not idealizing them) allows us to see the positive aspects of that person for us that people are usually unable to perceive. It is not a question of being blind but of knowing how to see.

2. Loyalty is the shortest way between two hearts

The establishment of a bond of loyalty between two people allows trust and mutual esteem to arise between both subjects.

3. I am me and my circumstance, and if I don’t save her I don’t save myself

This well-known phrase by Ortega y Gasset refers to the fact that the environment around us is part of and influences us as well as being influenced by us. We do not exist separately, but we are part of the world and the world is part of us.

4. Some people approach their lives in such a way that they live with appetizers and side dishes. The main dish they never know

The author states that some people are content with the crumbs of their dreams, without ever seeking to achieve what they would have liked to live.

5. With morality we correct the errors of our instincts, and with love the errors of our morals

This phrase indicates that through love we can correct our way of thinking when it is distorted or not able to cope with reality in an adaptive way. Love is placed above morality, as the force that can overcome its limitations and modify it for the better.

6. Being of the left is, as being of the right, one of the infinite ways a man can choose to be a fool: both, in fact, are forms of moral hemiplegia

The author criticizes that being placed at the extremes in such a way that one way of thinking is contrary to the other prevents observing and learning the good points and positive values of the other supposed side.

7. Life is a series of collisions with the future: it is not a sum of what we have been, but of what we long to be

We rule our lives not because of what we were in the past, but because of what we want to achieve and how we want to become.

8. The beauty that attracts rarely coincides with the beauty that makes you fall in love

Although many people find it difficult to make the distinction, attraction and love are not the same thing. What allows us to be attracted to someone is different from what allows us to fall in love.

9. Man differs from the animal in that he drinks without thirst and loves without time

This phrase expresses some of the differences between human nature and that of other animals.

10. Whenever you teach, teach to doubt what you teach

The acquisition of knowledge is important, but we must be able to be critical of what we have been taught if we want to truly evolve and grow.

11. While the tiger cannot stop being a tiger, it cannot disintegrate, man lives in permanent risk of dehumanization

Cruelty, misery and hatred can cause human beings to commit acts against their own nature, becoming inhumane. We must watch our actions.

12. I can commit to being honest; but do not demand that I commit to being impartial

We all have our own perspective on things, our preferences and beliefs, and it is unlikely that we can be truly impartial in most cases

13. He who in the name of freedom renounces to be what he has to be, has already killed himself in life: he is a suicide on his feet. His existence will consist in a perpetual escape from the only reality he could be

Denying ourselves what we want and how we are only leads us to suffering and to be permanently vigilant not to get close to what our nature dictates.

14. To be emperor of oneself is the first condition for reigning over others

He who wants to be in charge must first be able to direct himself.

15. Nothing that a man has been, is, or will be, is or will be once and for all, but has become so one fine day and will cease to be so another fine day

Everything starts and ends: there is nothing eternal or forever unchanging .

16. Everyone who has known any great man has been surprised to find that his soul possessed a halo of childishness

Although people tend to think that great people are solemn and serious beings, the truth is that they are still people who maintain the spark of illusion and joy.

17. Many men, like children, want one thing but not its consequences

This phrase encourages us to be responsible for our actions.

18. What is most valuable in man is his capacity for dissatisfaction

With this phrase Ortega y Gasset refers to the need not to get stuck and not to conform to the already established. This allows us to develop and grow.

19. Let us avoid supplanting our world with that of others

Ortega y Gasset tells us that our freedom and our world must not interfere in such a way as to nullify that of others. Each person must be able to be free without others trying to cohere them so that their world is in line with what others expect.

20. Every word says more than it should and also less than it should express

When we relate to others we don’t usually say everything we think, feel or believe , limiting ourselves to expressing only a part of what we would like to express. Or by letting us see much more than we would like to.

21. Eternal human life would be unbearable. It takes on value precisely because its brevity squeezes it, densifies it and makes it compact

What gives value to everything we do is the fact that one day we are going to die, because it makes every moment and every act a valuable moment that we have chosen to take advantage of.

22. From wanting to be to believing that one is already, there is a distance between the tragic and the comic

We must be aware of where we stand, not believing what we are not and accepting that we must strive to achieve what we want.

23. Knowing that one does not know is perhaps the most difficult and delicate knowledge

Recognizing our limits is sometimes more complicated than it seems, not being able to visualize one’s ignorance.

24. Life has been given to us, but it has not been given to us made

We must build our own life through effort and dedication. We must create our own destiny and take responsibility for our decisions.

25. There are as many realities as there are points of view. The point of view creates the panorama

This sentence explains to some extent the basic idea of perspectivism. There is no single absolute truth, but each of us elaborates his own.

26. In each step we take in life we tread a hundred different paths

Every step we take is a decision we make, having been able to decide on many other options. We form our life from our decisions , creating our own path.

27. Love consists in pushing a being to the perfection of himself

Love makes us desire and help the loved one to develop and perfect himself, to be happy and to achieve his goals.

28. We are not shot into existence like a rifle bullet whose trajectory is absolutely determined. It is false to say that what determines us are the circumstances. On the contrary, circumstances are the dilemma before which we have to decide. But what decides is our character

We are not pre-determined, but we are responsible for the decisions we make and for creating our own path in life.

29. Civilisation does not last because men are only interested in the results of civilisation: anaesthetics, cars, radio. But nothing that civilization gives is the natural fruit of an endemic tree. Everything is the result of an effort. A civilisation can only be sustained if many people contribute to the effort. If everyone prefers to enjoy the fruit, civilisation collapses

These phrases tell us that we must contribute to cultural development if we are to maintain progress and development, without focusing only on building on what has already been achieved.

30. It is important to emphasize the role that physiognomy and gestures such as a kiss play on love. They reveal the authentic being of the person we love

Small gestures, more than words, are able to make us see the way we are and what the people we love are silent about and do not express.

31. The greatest crime is now not in those who kill, but in those who do not kill but let kill

He criticizes the role of the silent witness who does nothing and allows misfortunes to occur.

32. Desire dies automatically when it is achieved; it dies when it is satisfied. Love, on the other hand, is an eternal unfulfilled desire

The author emphasizes the difference between love and attraction or desire. Love is not, because it is not something that has an end or a goal but remains.

33. The vain one needs others, seeks in them the confirmation of the idea he wants to have of himself

Ego and its unwanted consequences.

34. Man’s true treasure is the treasure of his errors

To err allows us to learn and to grow, being a symptom as well as a symptom that we have dared to experiment and to live.

35. As long as there is someone who believes in an idea, the idea lives

No matter how much it may be censored, a perspective or idea will endure as long as there is someone who can and wants to preserve it.

36. Thought is the only thing in the Universe whose existence cannot be denied: to deny is to think

Although we can doubt almost everything, we cannot doubt or deny that we think, because doubt itself is already thought.

37. Everyone is strange and wonderful for wide open pupils

Those who allow themselves to be curious and explore the world with an open mind are able to observe the wonders hidden in every little thing we come across.

38. Progress does not consist in annihilating yesterday today but, on the contrary, in preserving that essence of yesterday which had the virtue of creating that better today

Wanting to progress does not mean ignoring or discarding what has brought us to the point where we are, but in recognizing it and maintaining its basis in order to develop further.

This sentence explains to some extent the basic idea of perspectivism. There is no single absolute truth, but each of us elaborates his own.

26.
In each step we take in life we tread a hundred different paths

Every step we take is a decision we make, having been able to decide on many other options.
We form our life from our decisions , creating our own path.

27.
Love consists in pushing a being to the perfection of himself

Love makes us desire and help the loved one to develop and perfect himself, to be happy and to achieve his goals.

28. We are not shot into existence like a rifle bullet whose trajectory is absolutely determined.
It is false to say that what determines us are the circumstances. On the contrary, circumstances are the dilemma before which we have to decide.
But what decides is our character

We are not pre-determined, but we are responsible for the decisions we make and for creating our own path in life.

29. Civilisation does not last because men are only interested in the results of civilisation: anaesthetics, cars, radio. But nothing that civilization gives is the natural fruit of an endemic tree.
Everything is the result of an effort.
A civilisation can only be sustained if many people contribute to the effort. If everyone prefers to enjoy the fruit, civilisation collapses

These phrases tell us that we must contribute to cultural development if we are to maintain progress and development, without focusing only on building on what has already been achieved.

30.
It is important to emphasize the role that physiognomy and gestures such as a kiss play on love. They reveal the authentic being of the person we love

Small gestures, more than words, are able to make us see the way we are and what the people we love are silent about and do not express.

31. The greatest crime is now not in those who kill, but in those who do not kill but let kill

He criticizes the role of the silent witness who does nothing and allows misfortunes to occur.

32. Desire dies automatically when it is achieved; it dies when it is satisfied.
Love, on the other hand, is an eternal unfulfilled desire

The author emphasizes the difference between love and attraction or desire.
Love is not, because it is not something that has an end or a goal but remains.

33.
The vain one needs others, seeks in them the confirmation of the idea he wants to have of himself

Ego and its unwanted consequences.

34.
Man’s true treasure is the treasure of his errors

To err allows us to learn and to grow, being a symptom as well as a symptom that we have dared to experiment and to live.

35.
As long as there is someone who believes in an idea, the idea lives

No matter how much it may be censored, a perspective or idea will endure as long as there is someone who can and wants to preserve it.

36.
Thought is the only thing in the Universe whose existence cannot be denied: to deny is to think

Although we can doubt almost everything, we cannot doubt or deny that we think, because doubt itself is already thought.

37. Everyone is strange and wonderful for wide open pupils

Those who allow themselves to be curious and explore the world with an open mind are able to observe the wonders hidden in every little thing we come across.

38.
Progress does not consist in annihilating yesterday today but, on the contrary, in preserving that essence of yesterday which had the virtue of creating that better today

Wanting to progress does not mean ignoring or discarding what has brought us to the point where we are, but in recognizing it and maintaining its basis in order to develop further.

Love is a force that guides us towards what we want and makes us capable of leading and fighting for it.

54. Man is the being who absolutely needs the truth, and vice versa, the truth is the only thing that man essentially needs, his only unconditional need

This phrase indicates that what human beings seek is to know the truth, although each of us has our own.

55. Men do not live together just because, but to undertake great undertakings together

This phrase indicates that the strength of the group as a whole can help us to achieve growth and meet great objectives.

56. Everything that exists is a virgin that has to be loved in order to become fertile

Wondering and loving things is what makes us capable of understanding them, and developing them and generating new things from them.

57. There is over the passive a passive active, which interprets by seeing and sees by interpreting, a seeing which is looking

Ortega y Gasset indicates that seeing is not something really passive, but that through observation we interpret reality (an interpretation that in turn causes us to see things differently).

58. It is only possible to move forward when you look away. Progress is only possible when you think big

Progress is only possible if we set ourselves great goals to be reached little by little. If our goals are small, so will be their results.

59. Science consists in replacing knowledge that seemed safe with a theory, that is, with something problematic

Science allows us to doubt the established and to generate hypotheses and theories about how the world works, without trying to establish dogmatisms and accepting the possibility of error.

60. Pure reason has to yield its imperative to vital reason: life must be vital

The author considers that reason is not the establishment of an absolute truth separate from us, but is linked to life and what we live. There is no reality that is superior to us, nor are we superior to reality: we are part of reality. It pushes us to live our life based on our decisions and appreciating life.