Scepticism and Animal Faith: Introduction to a System of Philosophy was published by Charles Scribner’s Sons in 1923, and it serves as the epistemological foundation for Santayana’s mature philosophical system (developed fully in The Realms of Being). The book addresses the fundamental question of modern philosophy: how can we know anything about the external world?
Santayana’s answer comes in two stages. First, he pushes skepticism to its ultimate conclusion — further than Descartes, further than Hume — arguing that if we take doubt seriously, we can doubt not only the external world but our own memories, our own existence, and even the reality of the present moment. Absolute skepticism dissolves everything into “essences” — pure qualities of experience with no implication of existence. This is the “solipsism of the present moment,” and Santayana insists that it is the only logically defensible position if we rely on reason alone.
But then he observes that nobody actually lives in this position — not even the most committed skeptic. In practice, we all believe in the external world, in other minds, in the past, in causation. This belief is not rational (it cannot be justified by argument) but it is natural — it is the “animal faith” that we share with dogs, horses, and all creatures who navigate a world they assume to be real. Philosophy’s job, Santayana argues, is not to justify this faith (which cannot be done) but to clarify its structure and its implications.
Collecting Scepticism and Animal Faith
First edition (Scribner’s, New York, 1923): Cloth binding.
Market values:
- First edition in dust jacket: $100–$300
- Without jacket: $25–$60