Philosophy as Form of Life and Santayana’s Criticisms of James

One great problem that haunts contemporary philosophy is how to make it relevant for everyday life. Both Santayana and James thought this an important concern. It led James in the direction of psychologism, something Santayana vigorously rejects. If James turns to a modified, light-hearted theism in order to justify common perceptions, Santayana turns to an important analogy that he draws from his personal involvement with architecture. Both chose to ultimately characterize themselves as mystics—James a pluralistic mystic, Santayana a Castilian mystic. The topic of mysticism in both of these authors would require a book-length study. For my purposes here, it is enough to emphasize that the word serves to reject the strong foundationalism of many philosophers, although this was much more consistently achieved by Santayana’s later ontology.