George Santayana

George Santayana (1863-1952) was a Spanish-American philosopher, essayist, poet, and novelist, best known for his aphorism, "Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it." Born in Madrid, he moved to the United States, where he became a prominent figure in American philosophy. Santayana taught at Harvard University from 1889 to 1912, mentoring notable students such as T.S. Eliot and Gertrude Stein. His major works include "The Life of Reason" (1905-1906), a five-volume exploration of the role of reason in human life, and "Scepticism and Animal Faith" (1923), which laid the groundwork for his later philosophical system. He spent his later years in Europe, continuing to write and engage with philosophical discourse.