https://doi.org/10.26142/stgd-2020-027
Miguel de Unamuno (1864-1936) is one of the most important Spanish philosophers of the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries. He belonged to the intellectual elite of writers and thinkers, called „Generación 98”, who criticizing political conformity and cultural stagnation, aspired to give a modern form to the socio-cultural life of Spain.
The existentialist’s work focuses on the effort to find the sense of man’s being in the world, without the necessity to cross its boundaries. In his book „Del sentimiento trágico de la vida en los hombres y en los pueblos”, published in 1912 and considered to be his most important work, the Spanish philosopher points to the tension between rationalist attitude and faith, which is for man the only form of guarantee of existence after death.
According to Unamuno, Transcendence is inscribed in every particular individual, and the circumstances of life and the desire for immortality awaken the „potential of eternity” inherent in man. However, the spiritual and material composition of a human being makes it impossible to gain absolute certainty as to the subsistence of „conscious self” after death. The clash between reason and the volitional desire of immortality, between intellect and heart, existence and nothingness becomes the cause of the sense of the tragedy of life („el sentimiento trágico de la vida”). The main purpose of life is to satisfy the vital „hunger for eternity”, which is the essence of faith in God.
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