Irrational Man : A Study in Existential Philosophy

I. The present age. -- The advent of existentialism. -- The encounter with nothingness. -- The testimony of modern art. -- II. The sources of existentialism in the Western tradition. -- Hebraism and Hellenism. -- Christian sources. -- The flight from Laputa. -- III. The existentialists. -- Kierkegaard. -- Nietzsche. -- Heidegger. -- Sartre. -- IV. Integral vs. rational man. -- The place of the furies.;Widely recognized as the finest definition of existentialist Philosophy, this book introduced existentialism to America in 1958. Barrett discusses the views of 19th and 20th century existentialists Kierkegaard, Nietzsche, Heidegger, and Sartre and interprets the impact of their thinking on literature, art, and philosophy. From the Trade Paperback edition. Irrational Man is widely recognized as the finest definition of existentialist philosophy ever written. It is largely responsible for introducing existentialism to America. Barrett speaks eloquently and directly to concerns of the 1990s: a period when the irrational and the absurd are no better integrated than before and when humankind is in even greater danger of destroying its existence without ever understanding the meaning of its existence. Irrational Man begins by discussing the roots of existentialism in the art and thinking of Augustine, Aquinas, Pascal, Baudelaire, Blake, Dostoevski, Tolstoy, Hemingway, Picasso, Joyce, and Beckett. The heart of the book explains the views of the foremost existentialists-Kierkegaard, Nietzsche, Heidegger, and Sartre. The result is a marvelously lucid definition of existentialism and a brilliant interpretation of its impact.

Recognized as the finest definition of existentialist philosophy, this introduced existentialism to American in 1958.

Widely recognized as the finest definition of existentialist philosophy ever written, this book introduced existentialism to America in 1958. Barrett speaks eloquently and directly to concerns of the 1990s: a period when the irrational and the absurd are no better integrated than before and when humankind is in even greater danger of destroying its existence without ever understanding the meaning of its existence. Irrational Man begins by discussing the roots of existentialism in the art and thinking of Augustine, Aquinas, Pascal, Baudelaire, Blake, Dostoevski, Tolstoy, Hemingway, Picasso, Joyce, and Beckett. The heart of the book explains the views of the foremost existentialists—Kierkegaard, Nietzsche, Heidegger, and Sartre. The result is a marvelously lucid definition of existentialism and a brilliant interpretation of its impact. Discusses the roots of existentialism in the art and thinking of Augustine, Aquinas, Pascal, Baudelaire, Blake, Dostoevski, Tolstoy, Hemingway, Picasso, Joyce, and Beckett. The heart of the book explains the views of the foremost existentialists--Kierkegaard, Nietzsche, Heidegger, and Sartre. The result is a lucid definition of existentialism and an interpretation of its impact. --From publisher description THE story is told (by Kierkegaard) of the absent-minded man so abstracted from his own life that he hardly knows he exists until, one fine morning, he wakes up to find himself dead. A lucid definition of twentieth-century existentialism, examining its origins, the thought of its major spokesmen, and its impact on literature, art, music, and philosophy today