Education
He received his Doctor of Philosophy at Columbia University.
(Irrational Man: A Study in Existential Philosophy 278 pp....)
Irrational Man: A Study in Existential Philosophy 278 pp. 8vo. "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."Keywords: PHILOSOPHY EXISTENTIALISM
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(Widely recognized as the finest definition of existential...)
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.
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0007DEI30/?tag=2022091-20
(Widely recognized as the finest definition of existential...)
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.
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He received his Doctor of Philosophy at Columbia University.
Precociously, he began post-secondary studies at the City College of New York when 15 years old. He was an editor of Partisan Review and later the literary critic of The Atlantic Monthly magazine. He was well known for writing philosophical works for nonexperts.
These included Irrational Manitoba and The Illusion of Technique, which remain in print.
Barrett was good friends with the poet Delmore Schwartz for many years. He knew many other literary figures of the day, including Edmund Wilson, Philip Rahv, and Albert Camus.
In fiction his taste ran to the great Russians, particularly Fyodor Dostoyevsky. Barrett died in 1992, aged 78, of cancer of the esophagus.
Barrett"s Law is named for him: "not everyone who might read the productions of scholarly writers is an expert in the fields discussed" (p 99).
(Widely recognized as the finest definition of existential...)
(Widely recognized as the finest definition of existential...)
(Irrational Man: A Study in Existential Philosophy 278 pp....)
Like many intellectuals of his generation, Barrett flirted with Marxism before turning his energies to providing readable introductions to European philosophical schools, notably existentialism.
Irrational Manitoba remains one of the most approachable reviews of existentialism in English.
