Abstract

Having examined Santayana’s notion of tropes, I here identify some of the important tropes of his life that contributed to his philosophical conversion and how these relate to his published works. I further add a philosophical perspective provided by the Puerto Rican philosopher, Rafaél Arrillaga Torréns, for it represents some indirect evidence in support of Santayana’s claim that his vital philosophy relates to his Spanish background. When James scholars wish to discuss his own personal preferences and proclivities, they must of necessity turn to his correspondence. Famously, for example, James putatively had a personal conversion that he attributes to someone else in Varieties. By contrast, Santayana makes his conversion explicit and central to his writings. Not only does he make personal confessions a central topic of several essays, but he also wrote an extensive autobiography in which he makes most explicit how his personal experiences relate to his overall philosophy.