Ortega allievo di Cohen e l'amore come conoscenza

At the beginning of the 20th century, Ortega y Gasset moved to Germany to pursue his philosophy studies, settling in Marburg (in 1906 and later in 1911) and becoming one of Hermann Cohen's disciples. Ortega has left several testimonies of his attendance at Cohen’s classes and private meetings, and the master's teaching has inevitably produced resonances in his early thought. After his return to Spain, Ortega gradually detached himself from Cohen's idealistic conception, and his first book, Meditation on Quixote (1914), represents his «reaction» to Neo-Kantianism. The present work aims to discuss some common themes between the two philosophers in order to establish a philosophical and critical confrontation, emphasizing affinities and divergences beyond possible influences. First, the paper tries to reconstruct some stages of Ortega's apprenticeship in Marburg and his relationship with Cohen and Neo-Kantianism, also highlighting his gradual criticism. Secondly, the paper focuses on the theme of «concept», understood as a task (Aufgabe) or mission (Misión), and on the idea of knowledge as a work of love. Both referring to Plato’s philosophy and Spinoza’s amor intellectualis, the two philosophers diverge when Ortega distances himself from Cohen's idealistic «continent» towards the philosophy of «Vital Reason», that places new and different demands on life and morals.