So much for the idea that Santayana no longer engages the philosophical imagination, that the work of this erstwhile giant of the American literary scene can safely be forgotten. The oblivion was challenged by the tireless work of Herman Saatkamp in starting the critical edition of his writings and in making it a huge success.
The sad fate of literary figures is difficult to escape: the distance between celebrated status and shoulder-shrugging indifference is a case of untreated pneumonia. With Santayana, the ailment was cancer exacerbated by a change of taste on the part of philosophers. Systematic thought, literary style, and ontology went out of fashion, replaced by pseudoscientific precision. By 1960, just relatively a few years after his death, one had to explain who Santayana was and why his work was important.
Saatkamp came across Santayana in graduate school and found him immediately engaging. It did not take long to persuade him that a critical edition was badly needed and that he had the talent and energy to undertake it. His account of the development of the edition provides ample indication of the importance of personal relations. It is not that charm and shared interest carry every day, but a humane and generous attitude is often the foundation of successful collaboration. Saatkamp’s description of his relation to Mrs. Cory, owner of many Santayana copyrights, is a case in point.
Saatkamp highlights the influence of Santayana’s Spanish heritage and his family’s diplomatic background that has been often missed by American scholars. Both provide in-depth understanding to Santayana’s concerns about American democracy and capitalism. Although known as a classical American philosopher, he is unique in not being an American. He was a Spanish citizen throughout his life, but he was more a world citizen and traveler, recognizing both the good and the bad in all forms of government, while emphasizing that the challenges for each individual are to live well and to celebrate life in one’s individual circumstances and environment and in the choices that are made. Saatkamp organized the first international conference held in Ávila, Spain, in 1992. Over 1200 participants from many continents attended. During the Franco regime (1936–1975) Santayana was forbidden to be read in Spain, even while his novel, The Last Puritan, and the first book of his autobiography, Persons and Places, were among the best-selling books in the US and England. This conference was seen by many as liberating the Spanish influence and impact of Santayana’s work. And we now have an international Spanish journal dedicated to Santayana, Limbo.
His personal approach and academic standing led to his being the president of several international associations, including the Association for Documentary Editing. And in the second section of this volume, he transforms the mundane work of textual editing into something appealing and worth reading.
One of the fascinating features of this book is the way it displays the parallel development of its author as a philosopher and administrator. Inevitably, the question arises how he could have combined intellectual flowering with administrative success. He burnt through faculty ranks to an endowed chair, two deanships, and eventually the presidency of a university. At the same time, he made himself a premier scholar of the works of Santayana, received and administered multiple large grants and founded and edited the journal Overheard in Seville, dedicated to the life and writings of Santayana.
Most remarkably, perhaps, these are not stopping points but intersections on the road to self-development. Saatkamp’s parallel interests include medical ethics and genetics, and he has held notable positions in medical schools. These are fascinating extensions of his work on Santayana’s notion of the human psyche.
In the last section of this volume, he focuses on the future of philosophy and what can be learned from Santayana. The springboard for his comments are Santayana’s views of consciousness as an aftereffect of our animal psyche. These views are often reflected in the contemporary work of genetic and neuroscience research. Saatkamp advances philosophical approaches that engage the natural sciences while underlining the continued importance of philosophical discussion and analysis. The future of philosophy may take different directions to stay relevant to scientific discoveries, but it remains a singularly engaging field of inquiry and exploration. And Santayana’s influence will be a guide to new philosophical developments. This volume contains the first fruits in that area; his friends and followers have much to anticipate.
John Lachs