Josг© Ortega Y Gasset And The Dilemma Of Modern Man | Plus – Walkthrough |

For Ortega, the fundamental reality is not "thought" (as Descartes argued) but living . Life is something we are "fired into"; it is a series of choices made under pressure.

Modern man often tries to ignore his "circumstance"—his history and his roots—believing he can reinvent himself in a vacuum. Ortega argued that if we do not "save" our circumstance (understand and engage with our specific reality), we cannot save ourselves. 3. Life as Radical Reality JosГ© Ortega y Gasset and the Dilemma of Modern Man

The mass-man enjoys the fruits of civilization (technology, medicine, rights) without understanding the effort or the principles required to sustain them. He is the "spoiled child" of history, demanding everything while feeling no obligation to excellence. 2. "I am I and my Circumstance" For Ortega, the fundamental reality is not "thought"

Ortega believed that modern man has developed "instrumental reason" (how to build things) but lost "historical reason" (why things are the way they are). Ortega argued that if we do not "save"