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REASON IN SOCIETY
Volume Two of "The Life of Reason"
GEORGE SANTAYANA
ή γάρ νου ενέργεια ζωή
DOVER PUBLICATIONS, INC. NEW YORK This Dover edition, first published in 1980, is an unabridged republication of volume twoof 
The Life of Reason; or The Phases of Human Progress
, originally published byCharles Scribner's Sons, N.Y., in 1905.
REASON IN SOCIETY
CONTENTS
CHAPTER I
LOVEFluid existences have none but ideal goals.—Nutrition and reproduction.—Priority of the latter.—Love celebrates the initial triumph of form and is deeplyideal.—Difficulty in describing love.—One-sided or inverted theories about it.—Sexual functions its basis.—Structure the ground of faculty and faculty of duty.—Glory of animal love.—Its degradation when instincts become numerous andcompetitive.—Moral censure provoked.—The heart alienated from the world.—Childish ideals.—Their light all focussed on the object of love.—Threeenvironments for love.—Subjectivity of the passion.—Machinery regulatingchoice.—The choice unstable.—Instinctive essence of love.—Its ideality.—Itsuniversal scope.—Its euthanasia.
 
CHAPTER II
THE FAMILYThe family arises spontaneously.—It harmonises natural interests.—Capacity tobe educated goes with immaturity at birth.—The naturally dull achieveintelligence.—It is more blessed to save than to create.—Parental instinct regardschildhood only.—Handing on the torch of life.—Adventitious functions assumedby the family.—Inertia in human nature.—Family tyrannies.—Difficulty inabstracting from the family.—Possibility of substitutes.—Plato's heroiccommunism.—Opposite modern tendencies.—Individualism in a sense rational.—The family tamed.—Possible readjustments and reversions.—The idealincludes generation.—Inner values already lodged in this function.—Outwardbeneficence might be secured by experiment.
CHAPTER III
INDUSTRY, GOVERNMENT, AND WARPatriarchal economy.—Origin of the state.—Three uses of civilisation.—Itsrationality contingent.—Sources of wealth.—Excess of it possible.—Irrationalindustry.—Its jovial and ingenious side.—Its tyranny.—An impossible remedy.—Basis of government.—How rationality accrues.—Ferocious but usefuldespotisms.—Occasional advantage of being conquered.—Origin of freegovernments.—Their democratic tendencies.—Imperial peace.—Nominal andreal status of armies.—Their action irresponsible.—Pugnacity human.—Barrack-room philosophy.—Military virtues.—They are splendid vices.—Absolute valuein strife.—Sport a civilised way of preserving it.—Who shall found the universalcommonwealth?
CHAPTER IV
THE ARISTOCRATIC IDEALEminence, once existing, grows by its own operation.—Its causes natural and itsprivileges just.—Advantage of inequality.—Fable of the belly and the members.—Fallacy in it.—Theism expresses better the aristocratic ideal.—A heaven withmany mansions.—If God is defined as the human ideal, apotheosis the onlyparadise.—When natures differ perfections differ too.—Theory that stationsactually correspond to faculty.—Its falsity.—Feeble individuality the rule.—Sophistical envy.—Inequality is not a grievance; suffering is.—Mutilation bycrowding.—A hint to optimists.—How aristocracies might do good.—Man addswrong to nature's injury.—Conditions of a just inequality.
 
CHAPTER V
DEMOCRACYDemocracy as an end and as a means.—Natural democracy leads to monarchy.—Artificial democracy is an extension of privilege.—Ideals and expedients.—Well-founded distrust of rulers. Yet experts, if rational, would serve common interests.—People jealous of eminence.—It is representative, but subject to decay.—Ancient citizenship a privilege.—Modern democracy industrial.—Dangers tocurrent civilisation.—Is current civilisation a good?—Horrors of materialisticdemocracy.—Timocracy or socialistic aristocracy.—The difficulty the same as inall Socialism.—The masses would have to be plebeian in position and patricianin feeling.—Organisation for ideal ends breeds fanaticism.—Public spirit the lifeof democracy.
CHAPTER VI
FREE SOCIETYPrimacy of nature over spirit.—All experience at bottom liberal.—Socialexperience has its ideality too.—The self an ideal.—Romantic egotism.—Vanity.—Ambiguities of fame.—Its possible ideality.—Comradeship.—Externalconditions of friendship.—Identity in sex required, and in age.—Constituents offriendship.—Personal liking.—The refracting human medium for ideas.—Affection based on the refraction.—The medium must also be transparent.—Common interests indispensable.—Friendship between man and wife.—Betweenmaster and disciple.—Conflict between ideal and natural allegiance.—Automaticidealisation of heroes.
CHAPTER VII
PATRIOTISMThe creative social environment, since it eludes sense, must be representedsymbolically.—Ambiguous limits of a native country, geographical and moral.—Sentimental and political patriotism.—The earth and the race the first objects ofrational loyalty.—Race, when distinct, the greatest of distinctions.—"Pure" racesmay be moraliy sterile.—True nationality direction on a definite ideal.—Countrywell represented by domestic and civic religion.—Misleading identification ofcountry with government.—Sporting or belligerent patriotism.—Exclusivepatriotism rational only when the government supported is universallybeneficent.—Accidents of birth and training affect the ideal.—They areconditions and may contribute something.—They are not ends.—The symbol forcountry may be a man and may become an idol.—Feudal representationsensitive but partial.—Monarchical representation comprehensive but
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