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The Outsider Cycle
Introduction to the New Existentialism
To the English mind, the philosophy called "existentialism" is still identified with post-war Paris and jazz clubs in St. Germain. Even philosophers are inclined to believe that its hey-day came to an end with the death of Albert Camus and Sartre's identification with Marxism. There is an element of truth in this; the profoundly pessimistic existentialism of Sartre and Heidegger seems to have reached the end of its tether after the war.
Now Colin Wilson has revitalised existentialism with a completely new approach. The six volumes of his 'Outsider' series, published between 1956 and 1965, are an attempt to create an existentialism that is not paralysed by its own nihilism. It has been called by a French critic 'the first important contribution to existentialism ever made by an Englishman'.
Now, in a single short volume, written with the layman in mind, Colin Wilson provides a clear summary of the ideas of the 'Outsider' cycle, and develops them to a new stage. With swift, incisive strokes, he outlines the history of existentialism from Kierkegaard onward, and pinpoints from the beginning the fallacies that will bring it to a standstill. He shows how, when these fallacies are avoided, existentialism can become one of the most powerful tools ever fashioned by the human intellect - how, in fact it is vitally related to the evolution of 20th-century man.
Existentialism has been called 'the religion of the 20th century'. If this seems too large a claim for the gloomy philosophy of Sartre and Camus, it certainly takes on a new force when applied to Wilson's 'new-existentialism'. He sees philosophy as an intellectual adventure that aims at a real command and control of human existence.
Now Colin Wilson has revitalised existentialism with a completely new approach. The six volumes of his 'Outsider' series, published between 1956 and 1965, are an attempt to create an existentialism that is not paralysed by its own nihilism. It has been called by a French critic 'the first important contribution to existentialism ever made by an Englishman'.
Now, in a single short volume, written with the layman in mind, Colin Wilson provides a clear summary of the ideas of the 'Outsider' cycle, and develops them to a new stage. With swift, incisive strokes, he outlines the history of existentialism from Kierkegaard onward, and pinpoints from the beginning the fallacies that will bring it to a standstill. He shows how, when these fallacies are avoided, existentialism can become one of the most powerful tools ever fashioned by the human intellect - how, in fact it is vitally related to the evolution of 20th-century man.
Existentialism has been called 'the religion of the 20th century'. If this seems too large a claim for the gloomy philosophy of Sartre and Camus, it certainly takes on a new force when applied to Wilson's 'new-existentialism'. He sees philosophy as an intellectual adventure that aims at a real command and control of human existence.
188 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 1966
18 people are currently reading
291 people want to read
About the author
Colin Wilson
400 books1,289 followersLibrarian Note: There is more than one author by this name in the Goodreads database.
Colin Henry Wilson was born and raised in Leicester, England, U.K. He left school at 16, worked in factories and various occupations, and read in his spare time. When Wilson was 24, Gollancz published The Outsider (1956) which examines the role of the social 'outsider' in seminal works of various key literary and cultural figures. These include Albert Camus, Jean-Paul Sartre, Ernest Hemingway, Hermann Hesse, Fyodor Dostoyevsky, William James, T. E. Lawrence, Vaslav Nijinsky and Vincent Van Gogh and Wilson discusses his perception of Social alienation in their work. The book was a best seller and helped popularize existentialism in Britain. Critical praise though, was short-lived and Wilson was soon widely criticized.
Wilson's works after The Outsider focused on positive aspects of human psychology, such as peak experiences and the narrowness of consciousness. He admired the humanistic psychologist Abraham Maslow and corresponded with him. Wilson wrote The War Against Sleep: The Philosophy of Gurdjieff on the life, work and philosophy of G. I. Gurdjieff and an accessible introduction to the Greek-Armenian mystic in 1980. He argues throughout his work that the existentialist focus on defeat or nausea is only a partial representation of reality and that there is no particular reason for accepting it. Wilson views normal, everyday consciousness buffeted by the moment, as "blinkered" and argues that it should not be accepted as showing us the truth about reality. This blinkering has some evolutionary advantages in that it stops us from being completely immersed in wonder, or in the huge stream of events, and hence unable to act. However, to live properly we need to access more than this everyday consciousness. Wilson believes that our peak experiences of joy and meaningfulness are as real as our experiences of angst and, since we are more fully alive at these moments, they are more real. These experiences can be cultivated through concentration, paying attention, relaxation and certain types of work.
Colin Henry Wilson was born and raised in Leicester, England, U.K. He left school at 16, worked in factories and various occupations, and read in his spare time. When Wilson was 24, Gollancz published The Outsider (1956) which examines the role of the social 'outsider' in seminal works of various key literary and cultural figures. These include Albert Camus, Jean-Paul Sartre, Ernest Hemingway, Hermann Hesse, Fyodor Dostoyevsky, William James, T. E. Lawrence, Vaslav Nijinsky and Vincent Van Gogh and Wilson discusses his perception of Social alienation in their work. The book was a best seller and helped popularize existentialism in Britain. Critical praise though, was short-lived and Wilson was soon widely criticized.
Wilson's works after The Outsider focused on positive aspects of human psychology, such as peak experiences and the narrowness of consciousness. He admired the humanistic psychologist Abraham Maslow and corresponded with him. Wilson wrote The War Against Sleep: The Philosophy of Gurdjieff on the life, work and philosophy of G. I. Gurdjieff and an accessible introduction to the Greek-Armenian mystic in 1980. He argues throughout his work that the existentialist focus on defeat or nausea is only a partial representation of reality and that there is no particular reason for accepting it. Wilson views normal, everyday consciousness buffeted by the moment, as "blinkered" and argues that it should not be accepted as showing us the truth about reality. This blinkering has some evolutionary advantages in that it stops us from being completely immersed in wonder, or in the huge stream of events, and hence unable to act. However, to live properly we need to access more than this everyday consciousness. Wilson believes that our peak experiences of joy and meaningfulness are as real as our experiences of angst and, since we are more fully alive at these moments, they are more real. These experiences can be cultivated through concentration, paying attention, relaxation and certain types of work.
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September 28, 2019https://electric-pages.livejournal.co...
pg.21 - It can be seen that the history of ideas seems to be pursuing the zig-zag course of a drunkard.
pg.23 - To live is the opposite of to know, so human knowledge can never grasp human existence.
pg.25 - We are all trapped in a world of dreams inside our own skulls, and nothing short of the threat of immediate death will wake us up to the intense appreciation of our lives. We have forgotten that the world out there really exists.
pg.28 - Solitude is no answer, it is likely to lead to nausea, when you realise that hell is other things as well as other people.
pg.21 - It can be seen that the history of ideas seems to be pursuing the zig-zag course of a drunkard.
pg.23 - To live is the opposite of to know, so human knowledge can never grasp human existence.
pg.25 - We are all trapped in a world of dreams inside our own skulls, and nothing short of the threat of immediate death will wake us up to the intense appreciation of our lives. We have forgotten that the world out there really exists.
pg.28 - Solitude is no answer, it is likely to lead to nausea, when you realise that hell is other things as well as other people.
May 2, 2017
If as the author contends the so-called "new existentialism" attends to standards and what is real - in deference to the "old existentialism" then it begins to look very much like the value systems of religion or any other method which gets one through the tempests of life, the apparent meaninglessness of existence. However the author denies this. I'm not sure I agree, but it's worth thinking about.
May 30, 2019
Peak experiences offer way out from nihilistic philosophy.
June 19, 2022
“Radical nihilism is the conviction of an absolute untenability of existence when it comes to the highest values one recognizes.”
The Will to Power, by Friedrich Nietzsche
A line summarize the the first wave of existentialism. Wilson, if not original on thoughts, based on his own words, possess, nevertheless a methodological, systematic and layered transcendence core beliefs and values, that he stands and advocate for, and supports throughout his encyclopedic knowledge, that makes the experience of reading his books, that could be more described as “crash course”, or intro 101 of any subject he talks about, a very captivating and intriguing experience, like music to the ears. Without than being said, and considering the broad perspective Wilson provides in his books, and the different angles he takes on consideration when he covers a subject. It literately adds an extra propositional value to the reader, that wasn’t originally assigned to the material that was mainly subjected. Although this book is first written almost 60 years ago, the scientific labors, and experimental experience that took place even during these days, stood the passage of time, making it as relevant as today.
The Will to Power, by Friedrich Nietzsche
A line summarize the the first wave of existentialism. Wilson, if not original on thoughts, based on his own words, possess, nevertheless a methodological, systematic and layered transcendence core beliefs and values, that he stands and advocate for, and supports throughout his encyclopedic knowledge, that makes the experience of reading his books, that could be more described as “crash course”, or intro 101 of any subject he talks about, a very captivating and intriguing experience, like music to the ears. Without than being said, and considering the broad perspective Wilson provides in his books, and the different angles he takes on consideration when he covers a subject. It literately adds an extra propositional value to the reader, that wasn’t originally assigned to the material that was mainly subjected. Although this book is first written almost 60 years ago, the scientific labors, and experimental experience that took place even during these days, stood the passage of time, making it as relevant as today.
December 10, 2019
Wilson shows a way out of Existentialism via Mysticism. Wilson develops a nice cluster of ideas about waking up to the real rawness of reality (let’s not forget that he also wrote a book on Gurdjieff) and stopping to be an ‘automaton’ a robot, in a practice he refers to as phenomenology, his talk the peaks and valleys of life (inspired by Maslow), and develops a nice idea about the evolution of consciousness (perhaps from Bucke). He also bashed Sartre for thinking the world to be dreary.
If you like books like this you'll love my project:
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If you like books like this you'll love my project:
http://youtube.com/c/seekersofunity?s...
November 7, 2025
Here's what I thought after finishing this book:
In my silly opinion, we can find meaning by doing what we love or what makes us happy. Like in Maslow's hierarchy of needs, once we go beyond just satisfying our basic pleasures, we can feel love, help others, and see the real impact and helpfulness of our actions. That's where meaning can come from.
In my silly view, unlike nihilism and existentialism—which say everything’s meaningless and you’ve gotta make your own purpose—we don’t have to stare into the abyss of nothingness to find it. Maybe we can discover meaning in the sunshine of happiness too! But honestly, both approaches are pretty great!!
In my silly opinion, we can find meaning by doing what we love or what makes us happy. Like in Maslow's hierarchy of needs, once we go beyond just satisfying our basic pleasures, we can feel love, help others, and see the real impact and helpfulness of our actions. That's where meaning can come from.
In my silly view, unlike nihilism and existentialism—which say everything’s meaningless and you’ve gotta make your own purpose—we don’t have to stare into the abyss of nothingness to find it. Maybe we can discover meaning in the sunshine of happiness too! But honestly, both approaches are pretty great!!
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
January 22, 2020
don't read unless you identified yourself with `the outsider`; for those, this is a decent book. I recon in 1956 when it was first published it would have certainly be, at least for me, much more meaningful and original.
Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews