Philosophy Dept. Lauds Santayana In Emerson Panel

The Department of Philosophy paid tribute to George Santayana '86 last night.

In packed Emerson D. four present-day Harvard philosophers delivered a symposium in memory of the sometime Harvard philosopher. The symposium represented the first public tribute to Santayana by the Philosophy Department.

Clarence I. Lewis '06, Pierce Professor of Philosophy, spoke first on the man as a University professor. Donald C. Williams, professor of Philosophy, Frederick A. Glafson, instructor in Philosophy, and Henry D. Aiken, associate professor of Philosophy, each discussed a phase of Santayana as a philosopher.

Lewis, the only philosopher present who knew Santayana personally, explained his self-imposed exile. "Teaching was not sufficient for his spectator mind. Which found satisfaction in contemplation," said Lewis.

Olafson's paper defined Santayana's position among the skeptics. "Although he wrote too well to be reliable, he represented and defended pure skepticism as a way of life increasingly precious because it is increasingly rare," he said.

Commenting on Santayana's aesthetic and moral values, Alken pointed out that the philosopher had a lack of fundamental warmth, but possessed a quality of complete detachment.