William Barrett (philosopher)

William Barrett (philosopher)

William C. (Christopher) Barrett (1913–1992) was a professor of philosophy at New York University. 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 is well-known for writing philosophical works for nonexperts. Perhaps the best known among these is "" which remains in print.

In his book, "The Illusion of Technique" he summarized a lifetime of philosophical thinking in one sentence: "Amid all the definitions proposed for man the most truthful would in fact be that he is the religious animal."

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. He was deeply influenced by the philosophy of Nietzsche, Kierkegaard, and Heidegger. In fiction his taste ran to the great Russians, particularly Dostoyevsky. He was deeply religious in an unconventional, philosophical sense.

Books

*"What Is Existentialism?" (1947), Partisan Review, 1964 Random House edition: ISBN 0-394-17388-0
*"Irrational Man: A Study in Existential Philosophy" (1958), Doubleday, Anchor Books paperback (1962): ISBN 978-0-385-03138-7
*"Philosophy in the Twentieth Century" (1962), four volumes, William Barrett and Henry D. Aiken, editors, Random House
*"Time of Need: Forms of Imagination in the Twentieth Century" (1972), Harper Bros. ISBN 0-06-131754-3
*"The Illusion of Technique: A Search for Meaning in a Technological Civilization" (1979), Doubleday, ISBN 978-0-385-11202-4
*"The Truants: Adventures Among the Intellectuals" (1982), a memoir, Doubleday, ISBN 978-0-385-17328-5
*"Death of the Soul: From Descartes to the Computer" (1986), Doubleday, ISBN 978-0-385-17327-8

External links

* [http://www.anova.org/bio/we-barrett.html Biography] at Anova.org.


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