George Santayana Quotes


Progress, far from consisting in change, depends on retentiveness. When change is absolute there remains no being to improve and no direction is set for possible improvement: and when experience is not retained, as among savages, infancy is perpetual.


Citations

Santayana, George. The Life of Reason: The Phases of Human Progress, Vol. 1: Reason in Common Sense. Charles Scribner's Sons, 1905, p. 284.

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George Santayana
George Santayana
  • Born: December 16, 1863
  • Died: September 26, 1952
  • Nationality: Spanish
  • Profession: Philosopher

Jorge Agustín Nicolás Ruiz de Santayana y Borrás, known in English as George Santayana, was a philosopher, essayist, poet, and novelist. Originally from Spain, Santayana was raised and educated in the US from the age of eight and identified himself as an American, although he always retained a valid Spanish passport. At the age of 48, Santayana left his position at Harvard and returned to Europe permanently.