The Best Quotes From José Ortega Y Gasset
José Ortega y Gasset’s quote urges us to reflect on asking ourselves questions. They are a gift for anyone who wants to dig deeper through metaphors and ingenious statement.
José Ortega (1883-1955) was a Spanish philosopher and author who is linked to the theories of perspectivism, ratiovitalism and the cultural and artistic movement against modernism called noucentism.
His thoughts have had a profound effect on several generations of learned people. And he was not only a fantastic educator, but also ventured into various fields of knowledge, such as philosophy, psychology, art and literature.
People see his style as elegant and original, especially his philosophical writings. Two good examples are his works The Theme of Our Time (1923) and The Revolt of the Masses (1923). To learn more about him, let’s take a look at some quotes from José Ortega.
This is one of the most valuable quotes from José Ortega. Your destination is not a place, or a job or a moment. It’s not the path to your dreams, it’s more like meeting yourself. It is the exact place where you will find your true essence.
Sometimes we forget that the most important things are not outside us. No, they are actually within all of us. What’s the point of getting what you want, having the life you “dreamed of”, if you can not share it with yourself…
There are probably times when you put energy into arranging and prioritizing your external goals in the belief that you have time to learn about yourself later. But you postpone the most important thing: to reach yourself.
A mistake is like a bridge to a lesson. It’s a chance to improve something that went wrong. It is a treasure, as José Ortega says, full of wisdom.
And it is through your mistakes that you can achieve growth and change. You just have to learn to see it. Mistakes are human, we all make them and they are almost impossible to avoid. No one can actually control them because no one is perfect. But what you can control is your attitude when you confront them.
Mistakes are amazing teachers. You just have to give this type of attitude a try. They tell you which path to avoid or which strategy needs improvement. There are millions of things you can find out by mistake, because they all have a challenge within us.
This is a quote from José Ortega you should remember when talking to other people. Each person creates a world, their own. And everything that happens around them passes this filter. This leads to many misunderstandings, which is why we have such a hard time agreeing sometimes.
The nice, enriching thing about our relationships is all the different nuances that you can find in each perspective, all the different points of view. It’s magic, mystery. It is a reality that multiplies and changes based on who is watching.
José Gasset was absolutely right: to move forward is to think big and believe that anything is possible. If you wall in your own thoughts, your dreamers will be much smaller.
When it comes to projects and goals, the word “impossible” should be at the bottom of our vocabulary. Because if you limit your point of view, it is not surprising that you do not achieve what you aim for. There is a whole world of possibilities out there, you just have to find a way. That is the challenge.
This is another quote that is good to keep in mind, especially in education. If you want to shape independent adults who can make their own decisions, it is a must to teach doubt.
To impose a specific idea is to devastate an extensive, endless field of knowledge. But teaching people to question – not just others, but themselves – is the key to knowledge. It is the door to the wealth of different perspectives, and it is fundamental when it comes to coming up with liberating ideas.
Taking responsibility for the consequences of your actions is emotional maturity. Knowing that a decision will involve other things outside of this election is fundamental. In addition, things last considerably longer than the moment itself.
Knowing how to handle the trail the action leaves behind will help you move forward, get organized and not get lost.
People who do not take responsibility lead unstable, debt-laden lives where they see themselves as victims. They do not know what steps to take or what they have already taken. They do not realize that when they get what they want, it is also important to know what to do afterwards.
This may be José Ortega’s most complicated quote, as it takes a lot of humility to accept. At the same time, it is also one of his wisest. It is fundamental to recognize its limitations and accept that what you know is like a drop in the ocean.
How much do we really know? Everyone who thinks they know everything will not go far, because their pride will slowly bring them down. But someone who humbly accepts his ignorance takes another step towards discovering everything in the environment.
José Ortega’s quote is a call for self-reflection and questioning of things. They are words to remember if you want to make your thoughts easier to bend.
