Ortega's Paradoxical Generational Trajectory: The Success of an Intellectual Project That Contributes to Political Failure

Abstract

The political and intellectual condition is often discussed as if both categories were historical invariants. In this article, I will show how the configuration of the Spanish intellectual and political space of the early twentieth century allowed a double stake in both areas. However, the increasing autonomy of the intellectual and political fields, partly produced by the action of the members of the Generation of 14, modified this configuration, making it very difficult to reconcile a first-rate political and intellectual positions. In Ortega, this produced a recurring sense of frustration of his political expectations, which had important effects on his intellectual production.