Główne idee systemu filozoficznego Miguela de Unamuno

Abstract

Miguel de Unamuno was not a philosopher in the strict sense of the word. In his philosophy, which had a strong existential complexion, he did not deal with purely theoretical problems, but rather devoted all his intellectual efforts to looking for answers to the question of how to satisfy the hunger for immortality, which is present in each human being. The most interesting and original are his views on Christianity. They are very well reflected in his main work, Agony o f Christianity. Unamuno pointed out in this book that Christianity is always in agony and that it cannot be understood as a system whose ultimate goal is to remove contradiction from the world, but on the contrary - it implies many paradoxes which we have to face; it is an agony and a relentless fight. This understanding of Christianity makes Unamuno very close to Kierkegaard who called religious faith “passion.” Unamuno opposes a purely dogmatic approach to Christianity, because it would lead to the distortion of its deep essence. Faith should be an openness to the reality of the meeting - it gives the opportunity to meet Jesus, not by just reading the account of him left by his disciples, but first of all by making present his life and his existence. Christianity is the religion of the living Word, which is the opposite of a dead, fossilized Letter that forms doctrine. Faith should be always a matter of an individual person with their own existence, experiences and desires alone. It is in this existence, never apart from it, where a man lives his faith. This does not mean that a man is a monad separated from other human beings and that his life is devoid of reference to other people; on the contrary - his social nature makes it impossible for him to live and act without any relationships with others. This fact poses an aporia which is difficult to overcome. It does not allow the fulfilling of the ideal of Christian life which is a solitary life. Nevertheless, each Christian should strive to approach, as much as possible, this ideal that is represented by a monastic life, totally devoted to God alone. This way of life, however, is reserved only for a few people, otherwise human society would not function normally.