Beyond the Outsider (Paperback)

by Colin Wilson (Author)

Product Details

• Paperback: 228 pages
• Publisher: Carroll & Graf Pub (April 1991)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0881847046
• ISBN-13: 978-0881847048
• Product Dimensions: 8.5 x 5.5 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 9.6 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #1,081,247 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The New Existentialism, July 30, 1998

By A Customer

In the sixth and last book of Wilson's "Outsider" series, Colin Wilson attacks the "doom" prophets of existentialism with a different and more accurate philosophy. He notes that the existentialism of the early 20th century is due mainly to poor thinking habits and erroneous self-pity. Wilson describes his idea of peak experiences -- times when one feels more vitally alive and interested in the world around one -- and the role of sex and danger as stimuli of some such experiences. In the appendix he recounts his experience of taking mescalin to investigate modes of consciousness and perception.

8 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Last of series tries to elucidate the new existentialism., April 5, 2000

By A Customer

Supposed sixth book in a series, I had no problem reading this after only reading the first book of the series, but definitely read The Outsider first. The series deals with a world that cannot accept religious approaches from a superstitious past and seeks a new meaning for mankind. My opinion was that this was not as good as The Outsider, mostly because it reads more like a dry philosophical summary and discussion than an inspired holistic analysis. It speaks somewhat of the dual nature of mankind's perception and how recognizing this allows us to take the next step with is the path to our own evolution. Provides a discussion of the development of Romantic and Existential philosophies, to show how concepts have been revealed or failed through the last hundred years or so (from when the book was written in 1965). Seems to jump around and present aspects of thought in a manner that made it read like a mental zig zag. Briefly the "immediate perception" that is the basis of scientific investigation is only half of it, the other being "meaning perception". And one way he introduces (via Huxley and Sartre) to open the western mind to the concept of meaning perception is the taking of mescalin (a drug that actually seems to confuse perceptions, as I see it, rather than awaken them, but this book was a product of the sixties). Anything that gets man to understand his role is not passive but active, then Wilson gets to a, sort of, ultimate answer that was not totally clear after one reading, except it converged upon man's design of his own evolution. The book attempts to cover only some main concepts but does so in a flurry of references and odd phrases (like describing a concept as the 'St. Neots margin' or 'old woman in a vinegar bottle'). You may have to be farmiliar with at least the more notable Romantic and Existential philosophers to really appreciate his presentation. I have enjoyed reading Colin Wilson's books.

11 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Needs a larger audience., November 19, 1999

By A Customer

I cannot believe that only one review of this book had been written before now. This book is of paramount philosophical importance. I presume that people interested in philosophy have been reading archaic works of the erroneous Rene Descarte or Hegel. This work is of present value. The Whitehead-Husserl hypothesis is as far as man has come. It synthesises the age old battle of Realism-Idealism. I believe I have a reasonable knowledge of philosophy because I have read many works from an early age, but I feel this would be a good introduction into philsophy, especially the opening two chapters. Many people may become confused if they were to start with someone such as Locke and immediately turn to Kant, as the ideas the antithesises of each other. Colin Wilson is a writer of eminent quality and should be read by readers around the globe. I feel his works are not publicised enough in the US considering the lack of reviews here.