Irrational Man, William Barrett
Irrational Man, William Barrett
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Irrational Man
A Study in Existential Philosophy

Author: William Barrett

Narrator: Paul Boehmer

Unabridged: 13 hr 47 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Publisher: Tantor Media

Published: 07/30/2019

Synopsis

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.

About William Barrett

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 seventy-eight.

Reviews

Goodreads review by Glenn on October 21, 2024

I first read William Barrett's Irrational Man back in college and was inspired to spend the next several years reading Kierkegaard, Nietzsche, Dostoyevsky, Kafka,, Berdyaev and Shestov. Quite a rewarding experience. Having also participated in the arts and music and the study of aesthetics for many y......more

Goodreads review by Ian on April 27, 2015

THE PROEM: Woody Allen's "Irrational Man" I can't wait to see Woody Allen's 2015 film, which could almost be based on a fictitious novelisation of this work. Joaquin Phoenix plays a philosophy professor called Abe (originally Martin in the novel), who overcomes an existential crisis by having a relati......more

Goodreads review by M. on September 10, 2014

One of the most enjoyable and rewarding books on philosophy I have ever read. Next to Thousand Plateaus: Capitalism and Schizophrenia a most important book still for our time.......more

Goodreads review by Erik on October 05, 2013

This book was assigned reading for Howard Burkle's Philosophy 215 class, "Existentialism", at Grinnell College. It was also the first class I ever took with him and a reason I switched majors from History to Religious Studies, the new department he chaired. Although I had read a good deal of Camus, b......more

Goodreads review by B. P. on November 17, 2015

Though a little intermediately dated this is still a good book to introduce you to Existentialism or at least what it looked like in 1958 when Sartre and Camus...and de Beauvoir were active. This is the book that introduced much of the english-speaking world (not just the academy) to Existentialism......more

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