J. ORTEGA Y GASSET ON TASKS AND TOOLS OF HISTORICAL RESEARCH

This article analyzes the views of the Spanish philosopher José Ortega y Gasset on history. The article also deals with conceptions of historical reason and historiology, the theo- ry of generations. Historical reason succeeds in explaining the being of a man if it narrates accurately what that man has been. According Ortega, the generation is a tool of historical analysis. The generation is the vehicle in which man travels through history. Ortega focuses on beliefs as the focal point giving rise to the identity of particular generation. History, seen as an ongoing process of articulation within and between generations, reveals the reality that each society functions through the interplay between a mass and a select minority