Santayana and America. Values, Liberties, Responsibility

ProfessorSkowroñski's is a fresh and refreshing voice in American philosophy. He brings novel perspectives to the study of Santayana, and through that to understanding America. In Skowroñski's work, as in Santayana's, European and American influences combine to yield new insight. He explores the relevance of American philosophy for the study of Europe, America and their interaction with impeccable scholarship and unflagging energy. He leaves his readers heartened and enlightened. John Lachs, Centennial Professor of Philosophy at Vanderbilt University, Nashville, USA Santayana's notion of the genteel tradition in American society was well-known in his day and is of historical interest. His comparison of vacant freedom with vital liberty is little known, but is timely and important today. Issues of both kinds are joined by Professor Skowroñski in a comprehensive, balanced discussion that is thoroughly reliable and highly readable. He combs through the vast corpus of Santayana's writings, as is necessary with Santayana, to get a full and just view, and couples this with a remarkable collection of sometimes unexpected secondary sources. The scholarship is outstanding, the point of view original and interesting. Skowroñski applies careful scholarship and a fresh perspective to write a significant new study of an important but neglected philosopher. Angus Kerr-Lawson, Professor Emeritus in the Department of Pure Mathemathics and the Department of Philosophy at the University of Waterloo, Canada; President of The Santayana Society, Editor of Overheard in Seville: Bulletin of the Santayana Society .