The life of reason, or, The phases of human progress [electronic resource] / by George Santayana ; co-edited by Marianne S. Wokeck and Martin A. Coleman ; introduction by James Gouinlock.

Issued as part of UPCC book collections on Project MUSE.

Includes bibliographical references and index.

Acknowledgments -- Introduction by James Gouinlock -- Table of contents based on Scribner's first edition (1905) -- Reason in society critical edition text -- Chronology -- Appendix -- Editorial Appendix -- Index.

Influential philosopher, poet, and literary critic George Santayana (1863-1952) was a thorough naturalist, concerned with the ideal factors in human experience. He held that everything possesses a natural basis and that everything natural has an ideal development. In this one-volume edition of his early work, The Life of Reason (originally published 1905-6), Santayana argues that rational life is embodied in various ideal forms, including religion, and that religion may be embodied in reason. However, this is not to say that religion is grounded in science; rather, religion is poetic, a rendering of natural events in a dramatic form. Hence, to take so-called religious truths as literal claims is preposterous.

Description based on print version record.