This publication, which includes the essay “Three Pictures of Wine,” collects the works of one of the outstanding thinkers of the 20th century, José Ortega y Gaceta, showing the crisis of Western society and culture in the last century. Ortega y Gaset convincingly argued that the separation of a civilization based on consumption and selfish hedonism from national roots and traditions leads to the degradation of social and cultural ideals and the degeneration of art. Exploring the phenomenon of modernism, to which he paid much attention, the philosopher viewed it as the antithesis of “mass culture” and tried to highlight constructive creative principles in it. Ortega y Gaset's works are distinguished not only by their philosophical depth and content, but also by their excellent literary style, which has always attracted reader interest to them.

Translation by O. V. Zhuravlev