THE UNQUIET VISION: Mirrors of Man in Existentialism

Dr. Scott's interpretive gifts enable him to project the Unquiet Vision that is modern existential philosophy in a synthesis never guilty of reduction and to reach the literate reader who may come to the subject with no more than sophisticated aptitudes. A schematic introduction and reflective conclusion frame and extend the compass of the five focal chapters--on the beginnings of the new thought with Soren Kierkegaard, its demythologizing and indeed remythologizing by Nietzsche, its adoption by Camus, its-social expansion by Sartre, and its religious reshaping by Martin Buber. Each of these figures constitutes a representative landmark on a historical axis along which descendent currents moved (many of which are integrated here); of course there are countless purviews and sub-purviews not embraced, e.g., systems turning on. the god-within-oneself who is lost in the transition from theistic to atheistic theories. Particularly impressive are the mighty dissection of misconceptions about Nietzsche, the recognition of the implications of Buber's I and Thou for cognitive theory, and the exacting annotations and bibliography. This is not an advanced analysis but it is a superb explication, appreciative of the intrinsic and prophetic values in existential thinking and successful in rendering them meaningful. As such it is equally suitable for immediate reference and concentrated study, as unexceptionable as it is exceptional.