George Santayana probably did more than anyone except Alexis de Tocqueville to shape the critical view of American culture. The great philosopher and writer coined the phrase "genteel tradition", introducing it to a California audience in 1911. The phrase caught fire, giving a name to the culture of the republic.Santayana's address appears in this collection of influential essays about the country he lived in from 1872 to 1912. Because he remained European in spirit, the Spaniard brought a sharp detachment to his observations. He points out the American split between thought and action, theory and practice, the traditional and the modern, the arts and business, the high-brow and the popular. He also examines the excessive moralism in national life, which baffles Europeans. These nine essays touch on American idealism and materialism and American endeavor, sacred and profane.
- ISBN10 0674347005
- ISBN13 9780674347007
- Publish Date 1 January 1967
- Publish Status Out of Print
- Out of Print 12 December 2009
- Publish Country US
- Imprint Harvard University Press
- Format Hardcover
- Pages 216
- Language English