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Irrational Man: A Study in Existential Philosophy
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Irrational Man: A Study in Existential Philosophy Paperback - 1962

by William Barrett


From the publisher

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.

First line

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.

From the jacket flap

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.

Details

  • Title Irrational Man: A Study in Existential Philosophy
  • Author William Barrett
  • Binding Paperback
  • Edition Book Club Editio
  • Pages 314
  • Volumes 1
  • Language ENG
  • Publisher Anchor Books, New York, New York, U.S.A.
  • Date July 1, 1962
  • ISBN 9780385031387 / 0385031386
  • Weight 0.55 lbs (0.25 kg)
  • Dimensions 8.01 x 5.23 x 0.74 in (20.35 x 13.28 x 1.88 cm)
  • Themes
    • Chronological Period: Modern
  • Library of Congress subjects Existentialism
  • Library of Congress Catalog Number 90033388
  • Dewey Decimal Code 142.78

About the author

William Barrett is widely known as one of the first philosophers to introduce existentialism to America. Besides a long and distinguished career as a professor of philosophy, he was editor of Partisan Review and the literary critic for Atlantic Monthly. Barrett authored The Illusion of Technique and The Truants, among other books. He died in 1992, at the age of 78.
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Irrational Man
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Irrational Man

by William Barrett

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by Barrett, William

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Irrational Man: A Study in Existential Philosophy

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by Barrett, William

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