This article shows that the 1954 dispute between Maria Zambrano and Alfonso Reyes about Goethe has to be seen as a consequence of the studies of the Spanish philosopher in the field of the interrelation between poetry and philosophy. In the dispute, Reyes seems to represent a rational position, while Zambrano appears to follow an irrational aesthetics originated by German and English romanticism. When applying Karl Popper's ideas about rationalism and irrationalism, the result is a different constellation: Zambrano as representative of rational and open thinking, Reyes the promoter of a poetic system based solely on the concept of "great man", developed in literary criticism by Paul Benichou, which enabled him to see Goethe as a personality that fuses life and work. This interpretation of Goethe is, by the way, predominant in Spanish-speaking cultures, as Udo Rukser showed in his classical study.
