Irrational Man: A Study in Existential Philosophy

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Irrational Man: A Study in Existential Philosophy

4.03 of 5 stars 4.03 · rating details · 806 ratings · 68 reviews

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.

Paperback, 314 pages

Published July 1st 1962 by Anchor (first published 1958)

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Apr 18, 2012 Chris rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Ah, fuck it. I've tried several times now, and I simply do not seem to be (cap)able to put together what I wanted to say about Irrational Man—and nor do I feel right leaving as testament to Professor Barrett a mere one line encomium stating that I'd read him again, dude! Sure would! Hence, I'm reinstating the following unfinished and astray review that was rather sourly wiped-away the week past, with the recognition that I've depleted myself of the will and energy to pen anything further about B...more Ah, fuck it. I've tried several times now, and I simply do not seem to be (cap)able to put together what I wanted to say about Irrational Man—and nor do I feel right leaving as testament to Professor Barrett a mere one line encomium stating that I'd read him again, dude! Sure would! Hence, I'm reinstating the following unfinished and astray review that was rather sourly wiped-away the week past, with the recognition that I've depleted myself of the will and energy to pen anything further about Barrett's brilliant book.

I know that I am unusual in how I come to assess the merits of a work of philosophy, especially one such as Irrational Man, which puts a modern philosophical configuration under the expository microscope in order to both assess and critique the contributory intellections of its dominant exponents as well as trace its lineage through the long diachronic chain of Western thought, all towards determining how it evolved into its existent form and what, in particular, were the primary influences involved in nurturing its philosophical roots such that the entirety could bloom so fruitfully when historical conditions were propitious. I am incapable of—perhaps because uninterested in—calculating how accurately the author has interpreted the nuances and structure of a particular philosopher's theoretical output, whether he has correctly gauged the impact of an earlier school's thought upon its modern variant; my admittedly little experience being that, while a general consensus upon the core tenets of a select philosopher's thought has, in most cases, been reached and adhered to, when the details are dug into it can be difficult to find two experts who will find accordance in their interpretation. My peculiar and rather lazy stance is hardly one that's commendable, but there it is; I cannot bring myself to treat such material with the rigor required by academics or professionals—or even diligent Goodreads reviewers. Indeed, I am content to allow such brilliant exegetes as William Barrett proves himself to be to provide the navigational directions for wending one's way through a potentially disorienting maze—in the case of Irrational Man, that of providing the reader with an introduction to Existentialism as that loosely structured, modern outgrowth of Western Philosophy was configured a decade after the conclusion of the Second World War.

I loved this book. I don't necessarily love Existentialism—for that matter, even after soaking myself in the erudite bliss of each and every page of this perfectly constructed tome, I am uncertain if I could state what, precisely, Existentialism is. I do find myself moved to agreement with the author herein, who admits upfront that Existentialism had, at least at that point, fared rather poorly in establishing its credentials amongst academic philosophers, particularly those of the Anglo-American Analytic bent. While Barrett notes that Existentialism is possessed of a metaphysical-poetic bent, is drawn towards the murky depths of subjective exploration wherein perceived truth lies veiled beneath the inky and troubled waters of inner consciousness, in its attempts to root concrete, individual human beings in the existence from which they have been progressively and debilitatingly sundered it is acting in opposition to the very rational and systemic schools of thought which deem it to be of little worth in the pursuit of meaningful knowledge. To this the author bristles and suggests that such a limiting philosophical purview, one purged of the irrational, is indeed an expected result of our modern era's enclosure within the strictures of a dry rationalism polished to an arid perfection in the removed halls of academia; that Existentialism's very origin in the spiritual malaise of actually living individuals, its sustained attempt to address a profoundly felt irruption of unease in our destructive century of logical and technological gigantism, is what makes it a pertinent and valuable avenue of excavation of our still little-understood inner selves.

To establish his case, Barrett initially guides the reader through a measured observation of currents at play in twentieth century society, the angst and tremors of a raw finitude whose traces could be found in art, music, literature, and cinema—cultural trends acting as precursors to a study of the cause of their occurrence, canaries held aloft and in the vanguard of an uneven pacing through the Stygian tunnels of a conflict-permeated, uprooted, and fractured Western world. After stating that he will focus his attention upon four Existentialist progenitors and purveyors—Kierkegaard, Nietzsche, Heidegger, and Sartre—Barrett makes links and connections between these four and a disparate collection of thinkers, spread across time and the breadth of Europe, who influenced, or were influenced by, the tetrad and/or each other. How far does Barrett intend to bring the reader back in order to establish his perceived chain of causality that led to our modern situation? All the way back, to the Garden of Eden.

For this is of great importance to Professor Barrett, indeed a familiar starting point for a number of those from our time who would seek clues towards how we lost our collective understanding of Being. With his focus, at all times, upon the Western lineage, the author ruminates upon the origins of our philosophical heritage, our quest for knowledge. Noting importantly that the Presocratics explored understanding with the demoniacal depths of our consciousnesses, the tempestuous gales of primal myth and a poetic attuning to our extent selves at play in the searching, the road to our modern condition began with the uneasy intermingling of Hebraic Faith and Hellenic Reason, the Theological wedded to the Rational. In Barrett's estimation, the former held the upper hand over the latter up until the rediscovery of the works of Aristotle, of which Saint Thomas Aquinas was the great systematizer; and the author positions Aquinas' espousal of Existence being prior to Essence—as against Duns Scotus' Neoplatonic championing of the reverse ontological ordering and the point at which unbounded Reason professed itself capable of illuminating every corner of God's universe in the delineating fulgency of man's focussed intellect—as the sowing of the seeds for an Existentialist philosophy to grow from. An exploratory expedition into these troubled waters charted by Reason thus transpired, begun with avid, confident enthusiasm that quickly shaded itself with the darkened hues of disquiet and doubt. A flag was raised by Descartes, who championed his mental processes as the proving ground of his own existence while sundering the realm of the mind from that of material phenomena, even as this scientific augmentation began to draw a slew of questions towards and about itself until, by the time we reach Kant, Reason had to be reigned in from the extent of its previous boasted prowess even as the inevitable effect it produced upon believers—who, augmented by its concentrated, questioning light, had begun to notice ever more cracks appearing in the base of their Christian faith—continued to be expressed in the terms of tortuous inner turmoil initiated by St. Augustine, burnished by Blaise Pascal and brought to a head under the barrage of subjectifying surmising carried out by the author's first choice for a more in-depth exploration, Søren Kierkegaard.(less)

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Drew When I was a kid, looking through books in the library, I always saw those terms (modernism and postmodernism) thrown around, and never even had to wo...more
Apr 07, 2012 11:27am

Traveller Chris wrote: "To tell you the truth, K-O-L, I can't even make a credibly-formulated distinction between Modernism and Postmodernism, ..."

Yip, the only...more Chris wrote: "To tell you the truth, K-O-L, I can't even make a credibly-formulated distinction between Modernism and Postmodernism, ..."

Yip, the only difference I can distinguish, is that modernists (period around 1920- up to -erm.. uh, around the 1960's?) take themselves very seriously, and postmodernists (some time after that, up to the present :P ) make use of a lot of allusion in a very playful way.

Modernists tend to want to try out new things- new forms, etc. and they like to experiment, whereas postmodernists also break traditional patterns, but they make us of the traditional and play around with it in a more deliberately deconstructive way. Postmodernism is more intent on deconstructing and re-assembling, whereas modernism is more intent upon making a break with tradition in experimental ways that take them to "difference" in a way that... Sigh. The differences are so subtle that I honestly struggled to discern between the two for a long time until I decided just to go the easy way and divide them into their respective categories via time period.

That and the serious and playful. ..and the deconstruction.

..but that is as applied to literary criticism. Have you guys been reading any Derrida? Reading him helps a lot with helping to define postmodernism and post-structuralism in your mind.

@ KOL : Anyway, if you haven't read the Greeks and gone on from there, I do imagine that would be the place to start. I've been doing a bit of a similar thing lately. Did a bit of the Greeks and now moved on to St Augustine and St Anselm. One has to take the influence of ... nevermind - I'm going off on a tangent now.

Re the modernism/postmodernism thing, I imagine the etomology is rather unfortunate, but so is the term "classical" for something in Western musical history, ( after the Baroque and just before the Romantic) for instance, that doesn't correspond whatsoever with the "Classical" period of Greece, or really there's "classical" periods in almost every tradition you can think of.. and they're not always classical in the classic sense anymore than other periods might be.

Modernism is at least still fairly modern, imagine how weird the tag for the Modernist/Postmodernist periods will seem about a hundred or two years from now, when BOTH periods will be far in the past, and everything but modern...(less)
updated Apr 07, 2012 02:13pm

Mar 30, 2013 Ken Moten rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: non-fiction-stuff, philosophy-stuff, history-stuff

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 in detail.

It is 11 Chapters divided into four parts, one on the present (1958) state of existentialism, the sources of existentialism in the "western tradition", 4 Existentialist that William Barrett...more

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Apr 03, 2008 Grant Fairbairn rated it 4 of 5 stars

Recommended to Grant by: found it in my Dad's rotting book collection

Shelves: philosophy, existential-literature

The most understandable and engaging intro to Existential philosophy I've read/attempted to read.

I think that this book is a must for anyone who thinks and has ever found themselves frustrated by the inadequacy of philosophy as it's understood in American academia, i.e. by philosophers firmly seated in the Analytic tradition.

I majored in philosophy in college due in largest part to a desire to better understand the world and my place in it, but oftentimes I just found myself sitting in class try...more

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May 19, 2008 Clara rated it 5 of 5 stars Recommends it for: Anyone who wants to know what "existentialism" means

This book is probably the best introduction to existentialism that I've ever read. Barrett presents the central ideas in a clear manner which are easy to grasp for someone who's relatively new to philosophy and existentialism. The introduction to the four key philosophers is a good point, but as a previous reviewer remarked it's clear that Barrett favours some more than others. At times it gets a little dense and you feel you have to keep a number of abstract ideas in your head to keep up with B...more

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Jun 24, 2007 James rated it 4 of 5 stars Recommends it for: Philosophers or those interested in existentialism

Shelves: recently-read

Irrational Man is an introduction to the basic principles of existentialism by means of examination of some of the subjects it discusses, as well as biographies and commentary on its most prominent philosophers. Specifically discussed are Kierkegaard, Nietzsche, Heidegger, and Sartre. This book shows its age a bit, and one might get the impression that the author is rather critical of Sartre simply because he is a contemporary.

This is a good, short read that can open one up to the idea that man...more

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Feb 12, 2013 Arjun Ravichandran rated it 3 of 5 stars

Decent introduction to existential philosophy. The prose is conversational and friendly, without the usual sour academic quality one associates with philosophy books. The first half of the book is a lead-up to the actual discussion of the 4 main existentialist thinkers (Kierkegaard, Nietzsche, Heidegger, and Sartre), and was illuminating. The author dissects the roots of existential thought in early Christianity, in Eastern religions and systems of thought, and shows how existential pathos/angst...more

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Jan 28, 2012 John Carncross rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: reviewed

What would it mean to exist without context? Meaning would be forever under-determined. Multiple interpretations of the same event would be possible. It would also be so much harder to understand what we see (or read). Barrett argues that modern man lives without context, and he argues that contemporary literature and philosophy prove it.

It was marketed as the finest definition of Existentialism ever written. I don't know about that, but it is the best I have ever read.

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Jul 14, 2012 John Christmann rated it 5 of 5 stars

Reading Irrational Man may be the best way to introduce yourself to Existential Philosophy for the first time. Barrett is a fantastic author; his ability to guide one, with ease, through the tangled mess that is Existentialism is mind-blowing. This book is only an introduction, though. So if you already have a solid grounding in Sartre, Heidegger, or Kierkegaard, this book may just be repetitious. Barrett not only guides you through the main figures' works in Existentialism (2nd half of the book...more

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May 22, 2010 Stephen rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: 2007-reads

2007 wrote: I find Existential Philosophy empty. After having debated such things for awhile with friends and aquintances, I thought it was time to read up on the main arguemnets. This book was a great overview, in my opinion. I still see these viewpoints as a mute point, and even further find that these philosophies were given to the world by lonely people, not willing or able or trying to break out. These were not schools of thought debated about in an open forum. These were philsophies writte...more

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Sep 07, 2012 David rated it 4 of 5 stars

A lively, coherent, and--most importantly--comprehensible overview of Existential philosophy. I've read almost nothing by the four biggies Barrett discusses in detail (Kierkegaard, Nietzsche, Heidegger, Sartre) so I can't comment on the accuracy of his assertions: if they're near the mark, I'd raise the rating to five stars. He doesn't just summarize their main points, he also isn't shy about raising issues he thinks each philosopher has missed, or when they seem to have lost the thread entirely...more

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Nov 15, 2011 Don Robertson rated it 3 of 5 stars

Barrett's work was highly praised when it came out in 1958. I was eight years old when this book was published.

Barrett's work is well-dated now. Though buried within its pages is a good definition of Existentialism.

Existentialism is a philosophy that does not deal with the problem of how human knowledge is crafted from observations about an infinitely complex reality. Nor is existentialism aware that steeped within this infinite complexity is an infinite variety of possible knowledge studies, an...more

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May 29, 2012 Isaac rated it 4 of 5 stars

A really fine introduction to Existentialist Philosophy. Barrett provides a rich contextual and cultural history before going into what we understand as Modern Existentialism (represented by Sartre). He explains how Plato's idea that the thinking part of man is a separate entity and a rarefied ability that can be thought about as such, as separate, radically transformed our thinking about the way we think today. Barrett thinks the sense to which we conceive of our intelligence as somehow capable...more A really fine introduction to Existentialist Philosophy. Barrett provides a rich contextual and cultural history before going into what we understand as Modern Existentialism (represented by Sartre). He explains how Plato's idea that the thinking part of man is a separate entity and a rarefied ability that can be thought about as such, as separate, radically transformed our thinking about the way we think today. Barrett thinks the sense to which we conceive of our intelligence as somehow capable of cool calculation, of lofty objectivity, is taken for granted as being primordial and innate, when in fact this way of thinking about our cognitive processes as separate from other senses and thoughts is the product of an evolution several thousand years in the making.

Barrett's examination of later philosophical developments (he covers medieval Christian thought and the Englightenment) show a development in metaphysical thinking that will eventually culminate in Descarte's separation of the subjective self. Later still, in the 19th century, mathematicians and scientists pronounced that nature and math were infinite in possibility, Nietzsche declared the death of God, and the modern conceptualization of human existence without eternal salvation became more pervasive.

Barrett doesn't leave out literature, which, despite the subject of his life's primary work, he clearly believes morally, truthfully, and chronologically prior to philosophical revelation. He is constantly citing writers like Dostoevsky, Tolstoy, Hemingway, and I can't remember how many magnificent others, to argue that achievements of literary genius always anticipated statements of similar philosophical subject matter which were to be printed shortly thereafter amidst the pages of philophico-theoritcal speech. Nietzsche is always drawing from Dostoevsky. Barrett emphasizes this literary prophesying to illustrate what he sees as the central function of philosophy: the address of the human problem of man's confrontation with his existence, beginning and end. (less)

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Sep 15, 2012 John E. Branch Jr. rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: philosophy, history-of-ideas

A clear and concise introduction to existentialism and its antecedents. Read in college in the early 1970s, either in a freshman class or on a committee to evaluate textbooks for that class.

Along with revealing existentialism per se, Irrational Man gave me a taste for some of the things philosophy does--a taste that left me wanting more.

Among its lesser benefits: The author gave me the best translation of one of Pascal's sayings I've yet found: "The heart has its reasons, which the reason does n...more

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Feb 17, 2008 matt rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: wisdom-philosophical-investigatons, existentialism

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here.

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Sep 06, 2007 Sarah marked it as to-read

My friend Johnny, a philosophy major at Brooklyn, highly recommended this book. I find his thoughts on religion, philosophy, and existentialism fascinating, so I am really looking forward to reading this.

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Aug 05, 2007 Jen Hsieh rated it 4 of 5 stars

The intro book to Existential philosophy. Profoundly influential for me personally, prior to exploring Christianity.

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Mar 10, 2010 Doug rated it 1 of 5 stars

Shelves: philosophy

I don't know what Barrett's editor was on when he/she let this book be published as is, but this book was borderline incoherent for me. His style of obscurity is two-part: First, Barrett makes references to several epistemologies, pieces of art, historical authors, cultural beliefs, and pretty much "ideas" in general without so much as a footnote or preface. The plus side of this is that I did not realize how worldly and quick-thinking I've become until I read this book and was able to say, "Oh,...more

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Mar 16, 2013 Ted rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: existenialism-wide, lit-american, philosophy, read-in-20s

Well I know a read a good part of this book, there's a fair amount of underlining in it. The underlining was done ~45 years ago. And the cover is very cool (Giacometti's Tall Walking Figure).

I've also used the index to help me put books on my "existentialism-wide" shelf.

So it rates four stars on those facts alone I think.

Perhaps someday I'll read it again, I know I'd like to.

And perhaps then I'll write a real review.

Or perhaps I'll write a real review without reading it again.

And thanks to Ian f...more

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Aug 06, 2008 m. soria rated it 3 of 5 stars

i think this is my favorite of all introductions into existential philosophy.

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May 29, 2008 Sarah rated it 5 of 5 stars

Fab, fab, fab. Opened up my disseratation to a whole new level.

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Sep 29, 2007 Lindsey rated it 5 of 5 stars

soooooooo good. referred from dr. enssle--thank you!

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Dec 10, 2007 James rated it 4 of 5 stars

One of my favorites from my school days.

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Dec 15, 2010 Erik Graff rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition Recommends it for: existentialism beginners

Recommended to Erik by: Howard Burkle

Shelves: philosophy

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, both fiction and non-fiction; of Nietzsche and of Sartre, I really didn't know much about existentialism approached philosophically. Indeed, I had only taken a miserable Introduction to Philosophy and...more

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Dec 21, 2009 Dana Miranda rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: crème-de-le-crème

as an introduction to existentialism this work tends to allow for Barrett's preferences to take hold of actual facts. not that his notions and opinions are clouded, but simply for an introduction it is opinionated. such as, a clear dislike of sartre is exposed via his adamant dismissal whereas heidegger amounts to a personal loved-one. nevertheless it still holds as a profound and enormous project in pinpointing the meaning of this errant philosophy; Irrational Man holds as worth reading and dec...more

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Oct 03, 2008 Dylan rated it 4 of 5 stars

Recommended to Dylan by: Donald

Shelves: books-i-own

This overview or survey of existentialism sufficiently conveyed the core of that subject, even if it failed to speak to me in a very profound way. Originally printed in 1956 and dotted with references to things like the Iron Curtain and the Organization Man, one feels that one might be missing out on themes of more contemporary relevance in relation to existentialist thought. It may be difficult for some to overlook the author's exclusive use of the androcentric "Man" to refer to humans collecti...more This overview or survey of existentialism sufficiently conveyed the core of that subject, even if it failed to speak to me in a very profound way. Originally printed in 1956 and dotted with references to things like the Iron Curtain and the Organization Man, one feels that one might be missing out on themes of more contemporary relevance in relation to existentialist thought. It may be difficult for some to overlook the author's exclusive use of the androcentric "Man" to refer to humans collectively and other linguistic conventions no longer in general favor.

The first section of the book is dedicated to the the intellectual and artistic precursors and parallels to existentialism, and Barrett makes a strong case for their affinity with the philosophical movement. The second section (unfortunately, the smaller of the two) is an overview of the existentialisms of Kierkegaard, Nietzsche, Heidegger, and Sartre. He doesn't exactly own up to it, but his brief presentations of each display a definite preference. Barrett cannot be faulted for exposing the shortcomings he sees, and there is significantly more exposed in the sections on Sartre and Nietzsche than the others. He seems to like Heidegger most of all and reserves a special distaste for Sartre.

His narrative about Nietzsche hinges on the suggestion that Nietzsche's own philosophical and psychological shortcomings ultimately resulted in the insanity which afflicted him at the end of his life. Since that theory is pure speculation, and in fact a number of diseases have been suggested as possible causes, the suggestion is defamatory. It seems to be presented simply as a device for a better story, which fits into Barrett's view of Heidegger as the pinnacle of existentialist thought.

Barrett is at his best when he appeals to the survival of human society, which is in imminent danger because the political establishment, he says, "lags so sadly behind the actual condition of man." American society especially is deluded by the "thin, abstract, and therefore dangerous" ideology of Enlightenment Rationality, having faced little significant challenge to its ruthless single-minded 400 year project of Manifest Destiny. Europe in contrast is rooted in thousands of years of history, making its intellectual heritage more complex and possibly more sensitive to the "shadow that surrounds all human Enlightenment."

Overall, the strengths outweigh the weaknesses.(less)

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Jan 03, 2009 Aaron rated it 1 of 5 stars

Shelves: philosophy-religion, just-terrible

I originally read this book in college and was very impressed with it at time. I think I was more impressed with what it promised than what it delivered. I don't know why this is still taught because it's just not very good. It's historical significance is that in the 1950s it was the flagship text that introduced mainstream Americans to the curious European philosophy "Existentialism." This book probably did more to perpetuate "Existentialism's" status as something mysterious, novel and inacces...more

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Mar 08, 2008 Tom rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: non-fiction, theory-philosophy-etc

Irrational Man, published in 1958, provides a survey of existential philosophy, its roots, and its place history. As cover proudly claims, it does indeed handle these topics in a "lucid" way. William Barrett comes off as the kind of guy you would like to have as your introductory philosophy professor, able to explain elusive concepts in a clear (yet not condescending) manner, summarizing such massive works of thought as Aquinas's Summa Theologica, Kierkegaard's Either/Or, Heidegger's Being and T...more

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Jan 28, 2013 Joe Dwyer rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: favorites

Romanticism harbored explosively within itself. Romantic melancholy was no mere matter of languor or the vapors; nor was it an outbreak of personal neurosis, impotence, or sickness among a few individuals; rather it was a revelation to modern man of the human condition into which he had fallen, a condition that is nothing less than the estrangement from Being itself. […] Nietzsche was to be their thinker and Rimbaud was the poet of these possibilities. -William Barrett, Irrational Man

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May 19, 2009 DRM rated it 4 of 5 stars

I read this for a class I took on "the psychology of the self." Overall, a very decent review of the main existentialists and related philosophy all boiled down to a lucid thesis on a pretty nasty topic: the increasingly fragmented state of the self in modern society. Sure, not the most original theme but it was one of the first books to address it and still probably one of the most clearly presented that most anyone can follow.

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May 20, 2011 David rated it 5 of 5 stars

This is an excellent introduction to existentialism. Be sure to read it while the sun is shining. I read this in my twenties during my dark, brooding period. And the book depressed me even more. The cover is adorned by a picture of a Giacommetti sculture that is symbolic of modern man. It is stripped bare and exposed the the elements of wind, earth and fire. This is an excellent way to begin learning about existentialism.

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About William Barrett

William Christopher Barrett (1913 – 1992) was a professor of philosophy at New York University from 1950 to 1979. Precociously, he began post-secondary studies at the City College of New York when 15 years old. He received his PhD at Columbia University. He was an editor of Partisan Review and later the literary critic of The Atlantic Monthly magazine. He was well-known for writing philosophical w...more

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