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The Outsider Cycle #2
Religion and the Rebel
Religion and the Rebel, Colin Wilson’s second volume from his internationally acclaimed Outsider Cycle, is a casebook about and for rebels. With inspirational wisdom and engaging clarity, Wilson shows us that the purpose of religion, of our personal relationship with the sacred and the all-pervading mystery of existence, is to expand our consciousness and intensify our sense of life. Wilson heroically claims that the power to create meaning resides in our mental and spiritual discipline.
Examining the lives and works of Nietzsche, Kierkegaard, Rilke, Shaw, Pascal, Swedenborg, Rimbaud and Scott Fitzgerald, among others, Wilson explores the main existential questions and shows how these remarkable writers, scientists, philosophers and poets faced their need for transcendence. Like many of us, they were driven by a need to become more than men.
Religion and the Rebel is an outstanding and enjoyable book that combines philosophical analysis, historical interest, and religious insight.
Examining the lives and works of Nietzsche, Kierkegaard, Rilke, Shaw, Pascal, Swedenborg, Rimbaud and Scott Fitzgerald, among others, Wilson explores the main existential questions and shows how these remarkable writers, scientists, philosophers and poets faced their need for transcendence. Like many of us, they were driven by a need to become more than men.
Religion and the Rebel is an outstanding and enjoyable book that combines philosophical analysis, historical interest, and religious insight.
364 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published January 1, 1957
27 people are currently reading
1191 people want to read
About the author
Colin Wilson
401 books1,291 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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October 14, 2017
AN INSPIRING BOOK I LOVE SO MUCH I HAVE TO SHARE IT WITH THE WORLD.
I read Religion and the Rebel many years ago. I came to know about it because I love Marlon Brando and I learned that The Outsider, the first book of the Outsider Cycle by Colin Wilson, was one of his favourites. I liked The Outsider very much but wanting more I searched and found Religion and the Rebel, the book that followed it. When I read it I couldn't understand why this book wasn't even more known than the first. R&R was more interesting and profound, more comprehensive and positive. To my surprise I discovered that R&R was completely unknown to almost everybody, everywhere.
Life is mysterious and people sometimes act moved by their insecurities, envy and hate. After the stunning success of The Outsider, the same people who declared that Wilson was a genius, those who praised his talent and erudition, turned their backs on him when they discovered that he was a real Outsider. He was not faking it. They found it hard to accept that a rebel could be so wise and scholarly. It puzzled them to see how alive he was and at the same time how deep and conscious was his relationship with the sacred. But what bothered them most was that he didn't need them at all to be himself. The establishment couldn't stand his self-reliance, his Nietzschean boldness. They, as has always happened in history with Outsiders, crucified him.
He didn't care. He continued writing and Living and when he died in 2013 he had written more than 100 books. He is recognised today as one of the most brilliant minds of the 20th Century and his philosophy which he called New Existentialism, is more relevant than ever.
I am a writer, a reader and a publisher. I love books. Books are our biggest treasures, our saviours, our companions, our masters... My whole life is surrounded by (and surrendered to) their power and wisdom. So. I decided to publish R&R because most of the large publishers are not interested anymore in providing the readers, the human kind, with meaningful and powerful books. They just want to sell a product. Only a book is not a product. It is the essence of our culture, the best of it.
R&R has been out of print for 27 years and when it was first published in 1957 it was overlooked. We have recovered it for the new readers, for those few who are always looking for real books. So, reader, here it is: Religion and the Rebel anew. If you decide to read it or not is up to you. Just choose well. All we have is time and what we do with it is of the upmost importance for... yes, just for ourselves.
And now a formal review:
Religion and the Rebel, second book of Colin Wilson's Outsider Cycle, is and inspiring and powerful book. According to Wilson himself it is a more complete book than his worldwide best-seller The Outsider. While The Outsider was focused on documenting the subject of mental strain and near-insanity, Religion and the Rebel is focused on how to expand our consciousness and transform us into visionaries. It shows us with vivid examples and documented data how some of the greatest men of Western culture fought against the established notion of religion to achieve their own sense of life and meaning. Wilson tells us about the importance of mental discipline and starts to sketch the value of his philosophy, The New Existentialism. This book is full of fascinating ideas, useful information and deep thinking about our main concerns as human beings. One ends up uplifted, wanting to know more, to learn more, to achieve more... An outstanding book to re-read and have by our side. Excellent from beginning to end. Not to be missed
I read Religion and the Rebel many years ago. I came to know about it because I love Marlon Brando and I learned that The Outsider, the first book of the Outsider Cycle by Colin Wilson, was one of his favourites. I liked The Outsider very much but wanting more I searched and found Religion and the Rebel, the book that followed it. When I read it I couldn't understand why this book wasn't even more known than the first. R&R was more interesting and profound, more comprehensive and positive. To my surprise I discovered that R&R was completely unknown to almost everybody, everywhere.
Life is mysterious and people sometimes act moved by their insecurities, envy and hate. After the stunning success of The Outsider, the same people who declared that Wilson was a genius, those who praised his talent and erudition, turned their backs on him when they discovered that he was a real Outsider. He was not faking it. They found it hard to accept that a rebel could be so wise and scholarly. It puzzled them to see how alive he was and at the same time how deep and conscious was his relationship with the sacred. But what bothered them most was that he didn't need them at all to be himself. The establishment couldn't stand his self-reliance, his Nietzschean boldness. They, as has always happened in history with Outsiders, crucified him.
He didn't care. He continued writing and Living and when he died in 2013 he had written more than 100 books. He is recognised today as one of the most brilliant minds of the 20th Century and his philosophy which he called New Existentialism, is more relevant than ever.
I am a writer, a reader and a publisher. I love books. Books are our biggest treasures, our saviours, our companions, our masters... My whole life is surrounded by (and surrendered to) their power and wisdom. So. I decided to publish R&R because most of the large publishers are not interested anymore in providing the readers, the human kind, with meaningful and powerful books. They just want to sell a product. Only a book is not a product. It is the essence of our culture, the best of it.
R&R has been out of print for 27 years and when it was first published in 1957 it was overlooked. We have recovered it for the new readers, for those few who are always looking for real books. So, reader, here it is: Religion and the Rebel anew. If you decide to read it or not is up to you. Just choose well. All we have is time and what we do with it is of the upmost importance for... yes, just for ourselves.
And now a formal review:
Religion and the Rebel, second book of Colin Wilson's Outsider Cycle, is and inspiring and powerful book. According to Wilson himself it is a more complete book than his worldwide best-seller The Outsider. While The Outsider was focused on documenting the subject of mental strain and near-insanity, Religion and the Rebel is focused on how to expand our consciousness and transform us into visionaries. It shows us with vivid examples and documented data how some of the greatest men of Western culture fought against the established notion of religion to achieve their own sense of life and meaning. Wilson tells us about the importance of mental discipline and starts to sketch the value of his philosophy, The New Existentialism. This book is full of fascinating ideas, useful information and deep thinking about our main concerns as human beings. One ends up uplifted, wanting to know more, to learn more, to achieve more... An outstanding book to re-read and have by our side. Excellent from beginning to end. Not to be missed
July 29, 2015
This was Colin Wilson's second book (following his classic "The Outsider"), and also the second book in his Outsider cycle. In this book Wilson continues his analysis of the Outsider from his previous book, only now he looks to solve the problem of the Outsider, namely, how the Outsider can be saved. He essentially writes that what the human race needs is a new religion, though even he seems aware that this isn't a final answer, as he sums up at one point in the book: "Existentialism begins with the Outsider, and ends... no one knows where; but its road lies through religion. Religion is not the end; it is only a rest-house on the way."
It would have been nice to see a chapter in this on William Blake (though to be fair, Wilson did analyze Blake's work to some extent in the book he wrote prior to this one), and the exclusion of J.K. Huysmans (the anti-modern religious mystic artist par excellence) is mystifying (though he did do an essay on Huysmans in a later book during the 1980's), but all-in-all this was a very enjoyable and thought-provoking book, with interesting observations on everyone from Rilke to Rimbaud to Kierkegaard to Oswald Spengler to Jacob Boehme to Blaise Pascal to Swedenborg to Bernard Shaw (to name just a few; though sadly, as was the case with "The Outsider," Wilson chooses to only focus on male Outsiders of history while almost completely ignoring female Outsiders). I especially liked the anti-abstract/continental philosophy stance he takes at various points in the text (along with his attack on conventional Pauline Christianity), and the autobiographical chapter at the very start of the book detailing how he came to write "The Outsider" makes for fascinating reading.
And as always in Wilson's books, the text is remarkably quotable. Here are a few of the more memorable ones (in my opinion):
"The Outsider is a symptom of civilization's decline; Outsiders appear like pimples on a dying civilization."
"The concept of insanity only matters because it is a step towards supersanity." (this passage reminded me of Grant Morrison's famous description of the Joker in his graphic novel "Arkham Asylum." In that comic he even uses the same phrase of "super-sanity.")
"The Outsider's final problem is to become a visionary."
"Terror is the beginning of beauty."
"The Outsider must raise the banner of a new existentialism."
"Men should not hold the physical world in contempt (which is blasphemy), but they should not be enslaved by it either."
"Man is simply a dirty filter through which the spirit has to penetrate."
"The Outsider is the man who has faced chaos. The Insider is the man who blinds himself to it."
"The true Christian is the man who has faced his own despair, and has defeated it by an act of faith."
"The existentialist is the artist-philosopher, and his natural medium is the Bildungsroman."
"The fullest enjoyment of life demands complete non-attachment."
"The Outsider must find a direction and commit himself to it, not lie moping about the meaninglessness of the world."
"Existentialism means the recognition that life is a tiny corner of casual order in a universe of chaos."
"The purest religion of any age lies in the hands of its spiritual rebels."
It would have been nice to see a chapter in this on William Blake (though to be fair, Wilson did analyze Blake's work to some extent in the book he wrote prior to this one), and the exclusion of J.K. Huysmans (the anti-modern religious mystic artist par excellence) is mystifying (though he did do an essay on Huysmans in a later book during the 1980's), but all-in-all this was a very enjoyable and thought-provoking book, with interesting observations on everyone from Rilke to Rimbaud to Kierkegaard to Oswald Spengler to Jacob Boehme to Blaise Pascal to Swedenborg to Bernard Shaw (to name just a few; though sadly, as was the case with "The Outsider," Wilson chooses to only focus on male Outsiders of history while almost completely ignoring female Outsiders). I especially liked the anti-abstract/continental philosophy stance he takes at various points in the text (along with his attack on conventional Pauline Christianity), and the autobiographical chapter at the very start of the book detailing how he came to write "The Outsider" makes for fascinating reading.
And as always in Wilson's books, the text is remarkably quotable. Here are a few of the more memorable ones (in my opinion):
"The Outsider is a symptom of civilization's decline; Outsiders appear like pimples on a dying civilization."
"The concept of insanity only matters because it is a step towards supersanity." (this passage reminded me of Grant Morrison's famous description of the Joker in his graphic novel "Arkham Asylum." In that comic he even uses the same phrase of "super-sanity.")
"The Outsider's final problem is to become a visionary."
"Terror is the beginning of beauty."
"The Outsider must raise the banner of a new existentialism."
"Men should not hold the physical world in contempt (which is blasphemy), but they should not be enslaved by it either."
"Man is simply a dirty filter through which the spirit has to penetrate."
"The Outsider is the man who has faced chaos. The Insider is the man who blinds himself to it."
"The true Christian is the man who has faced his own despair, and has defeated it by an act of faith."
"The existentialist is the artist-philosopher, and his natural medium is the Bildungsroman."
"The fullest enjoyment of life demands complete non-attachment."
"The Outsider must find a direction and commit himself to it, not lie moping about the meaninglessness of the world."
"Existentialism means the recognition that life is a tiny corner of casual order in a universe of chaos."
"The purest religion of any age lies in the hands of its spiritual rebels."
May 20, 2025
3,5 su 5.
Da quando ho letto L'Outsider di Colin Wilson, mi si è aperto letteralmente un mondo. Non perché contenga chissà quali verità sconvolgenti, ma perché ha dato un' identità a riflessioni che da sempre si agitavano in me. L’avessi scoperto negli anni dell’adolescenza, sarebbe diventato la mia Bibbia personale.
Libro che mi ha spinto a cercare altre opere di Wilson, tra cui Religione e Ribellione naturale prosieguo di "L'Outsider". Qui l’autore amplia e ridefinisce alcuni concetti chiave, portando la sua analisi a un livello ancor più profondo.
Prima di approcciarmi a "Religione e Ribellione", ero convinta che questi due concetti fossero inconciliabili. Alla luce di quanto letto, mi rendo conto che entrambi nascono dallo stesso input tipicamente umano: il bisogno di mettere in discussione il mondo per cercare un significato più alto. Potrei quasi affermare che, ribelle non è colui che combatte il sistema, ma chi riesce a trascenderlo.
Wilson intreccia filosofia, storia e letteratura per confutare le convenzioni sulla fede e la ribellione; la sua visione - sospesa tra misticismo ed esistenzialismo - avvalora che derivano non da un desiderio di rovesciare il sistema, ma da un continuo ridefinire il senso dell’esistenza.
Un saggio densissimo che ho faticato a seguire perché non sono riuscita a cogliere tutti i riferimenti che l'autore faceva di volta in volta, tuttavia, sono felice di essermi cimentata e mi sento di consigliarlo a chi è in cerca di una lettura rivoluzionante sulla percezione del sacro nell'ottica dell'outsider.
Da quando ho letto L'Outsider di Colin Wilson, mi si è aperto letteralmente un mondo. Non perché contenga chissà quali verità sconvolgenti, ma perché ha dato un' identità a riflessioni che da sempre si agitavano in me. L’avessi scoperto negli anni dell’adolescenza, sarebbe diventato la mia Bibbia personale.
Libro che mi ha spinto a cercare altre opere di Wilson, tra cui Religione e Ribellione naturale prosieguo di "L'Outsider". Qui l’autore amplia e ridefinisce alcuni concetti chiave, portando la sua analisi a un livello ancor più profondo.
Prima di approcciarmi a "Religione e Ribellione", ero convinta che questi due concetti fossero inconciliabili. Alla luce di quanto letto, mi rendo conto che entrambi nascono dallo stesso input tipicamente umano: il bisogno di mettere in discussione il mondo per cercare un significato più alto. Potrei quasi affermare che, ribelle non è colui che combatte il sistema, ma chi riesce a trascenderlo.
Wilson intreccia filosofia, storia e letteratura per confutare le convenzioni sulla fede e la ribellione; la sua visione - sospesa tra misticismo ed esistenzialismo - avvalora che derivano non da un desiderio di rovesciare il sistema, ma da un continuo ridefinire il senso dell’esistenza.
Un saggio densissimo che ho faticato a seguire perché non sono riuscita a cogliere tutti i riferimenti che l'autore faceva di volta in volta, tuttavia, sono felice di essermi cimentata e mi sento di consigliarlo a chi è in cerca di una lettura rivoluzionante sulla percezione del sacro nell'ottica dell'outsider.
December 11, 2013
I read this after reading The Outsider; I bought it in Reigate in a second-hand bookshop in 1968. He gives a lot more autobiographical detail in this book which was slated after all the hype with The Outsider! I even have a TLS review of the times, and I quote: "His formal education had been slight. Having read it [The Outsider] some people thought it mere rubbish. Others feared that overpraise might go to the young man's head. This fear he more than once seemed to justify by making public statements in which it was not impossible to detect. . megalomania." He or she goes onto say why RATR is even worse than The Outsider. The reviewer remained anonymous! Herbert Read praised Religion and the Rebel. I lapped up the summaries of figures such as, Pascal, Kierkegaard, Wittgenstein and Whitehead. For me reading it in my 20s, it was all exciting stuff. In sequence, I read The Age of Defeat, afterwards, The Strength to Dream, soon followed by his sf Mind Parasites and The Philosopher's Stone. Incidentally a appreciative study of his output is Colin Wilson: The Man & His Mind by Howard F Dossor publ in 1990.
Colin Wilson died in hospital, age 82, on 5 Dec 2013.
Colin Wilson died in hospital, age 82, on 5 Dec 2013.
February 29, 2020
من الأفضل قراءة اللامنتمي قبل قراءة هذا الكتاب
November 28, 2017
A remarkably insightful book; that Wilson was only twenty-five when he wrote it, without any formal academic training, makes it even more remarkable. I have a feeling Wilson will make a bit of a comeback in the coming decade.
November 16, 2007
A sequel to Wilson's The Outsider, exploring some of the same ideas and extending them. Not quite as strong a book as its predecessor, but still a fascinating and powerful read. If you have a choice, read The Outsider fitst.
Read
July 31, 2016من كتاب سقوط الحضارة / كولن ولسن
كنتُ انظر إلى حضارتنا نظرتي إلى شيء رخيص تافه ، باعتبار انها تمثل انحطاط جميع المقاييس العقلية ، ويعكس ذلك فقد لاح لي اللامنتمي الرجل الذي يشعر لاي سبب كان بالوحدة وسط جمع من الذين لا يبلغون منزلته .
كنتُ انظر إلى حضارتنا نظرتي إلى شيء رخيص تافه ، باعتبار انها تمثل انحطاط جميع المقاييس العقلية ، ويعكس ذلك فقد لاح لي اللامنتمي الرجل الذي يشعر لاي سبب كان بالوحدة وسط جمع من الذين لا يبلغون منزلته .
November 28, 2021
Non dico più niente su Wilson perché si è capito quanto mi piace e che ok va letto, però vorrei solo dire che Shinji Ikari è un outsider.
https://www.ecodelnulla.it/trascender...
https://www.ecodelnulla.it/trascender...
January 4, 2024
…È sempre riconoscibile la cifra stilistica di Wilson, la sua capacità di tracciare accostamenti spesso inconsueti tra i pensieri, le biografie e le opere di scrittori, filosofi, religiosi - da Rainer Maria Rilke a Arthur Rimbaud, da Jacob Böhme a Søren Kierkegaard, passando per Agostino d’Ippona, Blaise Pascal, George Bernard Shaw, Ludwig Wittgenstein -, che pure sembra avvitarsi, in questo testo, in una sorta di compiaciuto citazionismo.
Anni dopo, lo stesso scrittore ne avrebbe riconosciuto alcuni dei limiti principali: “Parlavo dell’outsider come se fosse uno specifico tipo di essere umano, come un eschimese o un cannibale. La verità è, ovviamente, che la maggior parte delle persone contiene in sé un elemento di ‘outsiderismo’, un senso di alienazione dalla società […] Mi rendo conto adesso che questo uso costante del termine ‘outsider’ dà al libro una patina di eccessiva semplificazione”.
Eppure sono proprio quelle rotte inusuali tracciate tra sistemi di pensiero anche lontani tra loro, quei percorsi tortuosi, l’analisi letteraria delle opere degli autori riportati ad affascinare, lasciare segni, promemoria su intere bibliografie da recuperare, e a donare al lettore la consapevolezza di aver condiviso il girovagare di una mente del tutto peculiare…
Ne scrivo su
https://www.mangialibri.com/religione...
Anni dopo, lo stesso scrittore ne avrebbe riconosciuto alcuni dei limiti principali: “Parlavo dell’outsider come se fosse uno specifico tipo di essere umano, come un eschimese o un cannibale. La verità è, ovviamente, che la maggior parte delle persone contiene in sé un elemento di ‘outsiderismo’, un senso di alienazione dalla società […] Mi rendo conto adesso che questo uso costante del termine ‘outsider’ dà al libro una patina di eccessiva semplificazione”.
Eppure sono proprio quelle rotte inusuali tracciate tra sistemi di pensiero anche lontani tra loro, quei percorsi tortuosi, l’analisi letteraria delle opere degli autori riportati ad affascinare, lasciare segni, promemoria su intere bibliografie da recuperare, e a donare al lettore la consapevolezza di aver condiviso il girovagare di una mente del tutto peculiare…
Ne scrivo su
https://www.mangialibri.com/religione...
October 27, 2018
Top-notch & I see it as an excellent successor to The Outsider.
August 3, 2025
لم أفهم ولا اريد ان افهم، لا ادري ولا اريد ان ادري ،لم أجد الفائدة ولا اريد ان أجدها، كولن ويلسون ، طاووسٌ صفصطائي.
March 28, 2022
L'outsider come simbolo del declino della civiltà occidentale. Wilson attraversa le vite di coloro che vengono ritenuti outsider per spiegare come si è arrivati all'avanzata incontrollabile della logica, la quale senza emozioni e corpo non può proseguire il suo cammino. La necessità di una nuova religione universale si è manifestata nel mondo materialista, e l'outsider deve prima controllare il suo spirito per poter essere Zarathustra. La lotta degli uomini di genio deve essere fatta all'interno della società, dominata dall'insider, l'uomo che non utilizza la volontà. Ed è proprio sulla volontà che Wilson fonda l'ipotesi di una nuova religione, che deve necessariamente sfociare nel misticismo. L'emarginato deve emarginarsi, per riuscire a trovare il modo di spiegare agli insider l'attuazione della volontà.
Il saggio è ricco di spunti interessanti, che trasportano il lettore tra le pieghe del tempo attraverso la vita di personalità (conosciute e meno conosciute). Le spiegazioni di Wilson riescono ad essere efficaci anche attraverso le tante citazioni dei testi degli autori che tratta, quasi a voler dimostrare che le sue idee non siano prive di fondamento, ma forgiate nel "fuoco". La proposta di Wilson è quella del recupero di vari elementi da varie religioni, ma ciò è attuabile solo se l'insider possa rendere viva la sua volontà.
Il saggio è ricco di spunti interessanti, che trasportano il lettore tra le pieghe del tempo attraverso la vita di personalità (conosciute e meno conosciute). Le spiegazioni di Wilson riescono ad essere efficaci anche attraverso le tante citazioni dei testi degli autori che tratta, quasi a voler dimostrare che le sue idee non siano prive di fondamento, ma forgiate nel "fuoco". La proposta di Wilson è quella del recupero di vari elementi da varie religioni, ma ciò è attuabile solo se l'insider possa rendere viva la sua volontà.
October 14, 2017
AN INSPIRING BOOK I LOVE SO MUCH I HAVE TO SHARE IT WITH THE WORLD.
I read Religion and the Rebel many years ago. I came to know about it because I love Marlon Brando and I learned that The Outsider, the first book of the Outsider Cycle by Colin Wilson, was one of his favourites. I liked The Outsider very much but wanting more I searched and found Religion and the Rebel, the book that followed it. When I read it I couldn't understand why this book wasn't even more known than the first. R&R was more interesting and profound, more comprehensive and positive. To my surprise I discovered that R&R was completely unknown to almost everybody, everywhere.
Life is mysterious and people sometimes act moved by their insecurities, envy and hate. After the stunning success of The Outsider, the same people who declared that Wilson was a genius, those who praised his talent and erudition, turned their backs on him when they discovered that he was a real Outsider. He was not faking it. They found it hard to accept that a rebel could be so wise and scholarly. It puzzled them to see how alive he was and at the same time how deep and conscious was his relationship with the sacred. But what bothered them most was that he didn't need them at all to be himself. The establishment couldn't stand his self-reliance, his Nietzschean boldness. They, as has always happened in history with Outsiders, crucified him.
He didn't care. He continued writing and Living and when he died in 2013 he had written more than 100 books. He is recognised today as one of the most brilliant minds of the 20th Century and his philosophy which he called New Existentialism, is more relevant than ever.
I am a writer, a reader and a publisher. I love books. Books are our biggest treasures, our saviours, our companions, our masters... My whole life is surrounded by (and surrendered to) their power and wisdom. So. I decided to publish R&R because most of the large publishers are not interested anymore in providing the readers, the human kind, with meaningful and powerful books. They just want to sell a product. Only a book is not a product. It is the essence of our culture, the best of it.
R&R has been out of print for 27 years and when it was first published in 1957 it was overlooked. We have recovered it for the new readers, for those few who are always looking for real books. So, reader, here it is: Religion and the Rebel anew. If you decide to read it or not is up to you. Just choose well. All we have is time and what we do with it is of the upmost importance for... yes, just for ourselves.
And now a formal review:
Religion and the Rebel, second book of Colin Wilson's Outsider Cycle, is and inspiring and powerful book. According to Wilson himself it is a more complete book than his worldwide best-seller The Outsider. While The Outsider was focused on documenting the subject of mental strain and near-insanity, Religion and the Rebel is focused on how to expand our consciousness and transform us into visionaries. It shows us with vivid examples and documented data how some of the greatest men of Western culture fought against the established notion of religion to achieve their own sense of life and meaning. Wilson tells us about the importance of mental discipline and starts to sketch the value of his philosophy, The New Existentialism. This book is full of fascinating ideas, useful information and deep thinking about our main concerns as human beings. One ends up uplifted, wanting to know more, to learn more, to achieve more... An outstanding book to re-read and have by our side. Excellent from beginning to end. Not to be missed
I read Religion and the Rebel many years ago. I came to know about it because I love Marlon Brando and I learned that The Outsider, the first book of the Outsider Cycle by Colin Wilson, was one of his favourites. I liked The Outsider very much but wanting more I searched and found Religion and the Rebel, the book that followed it. When I read it I couldn't understand why this book wasn't even more known than the first. R&R was more interesting and profound, more comprehensive and positive. To my surprise I discovered that R&R was completely unknown to almost everybody, everywhere.
Life is mysterious and people sometimes act moved by their insecurities, envy and hate. After the stunning success of The Outsider, the same people who declared that Wilson was a genius, those who praised his talent and erudition, turned their backs on him when they discovered that he was a real Outsider. He was not faking it. They found it hard to accept that a rebel could be so wise and scholarly. It puzzled them to see how alive he was and at the same time how deep and conscious was his relationship with the sacred. But what bothered them most was that he didn't need them at all to be himself. The establishment couldn't stand his self-reliance, his Nietzschean boldness. They, as has always happened in history with Outsiders, crucified him.
He didn't care. He continued writing and Living and when he died in 2013 he had written more than 100 books. He is recognised today as one of the most brilliant minds of the 20th Century and his philosophy which he called New Existentialism, is more relevant than ever.
I am a writer, a reader and a publisher. I love books. Books are our biggest treasures, our saviours, our companions, our masters... My whole life is surrounded by (and surrendered to) their power and wisdom. So. I decided to publish R&R because most of the large publishers are not interested anymore in providing the readers, the human kind, with meaningful and powerful books. They just want to sell a product. Only a book is not a product. It is the essence of our culture, the best of it.
R&R has been out of print for 27 years and when it was first published in 1957 it was overlooked. We have recovered it for the new readers, for those few who are always looking for real books. So, reader, here it is: Religion and the Rebel anew. If you decide to read it or not is up to you. Just choose well. All we have is time and what we do with it is of the upmost importance for... yes, just for ourselves.
And now a formal review:
Religion and the Rebel, second book of Colin Wilson's Outsider Cycle, is and inspiring and powerful book. According to Wilson himself it is a more complete book than his worldwide best-seller The Outsider. While The Outsider was focused on documenting the subject of mental strain and near-insanity, Religion and the Rebel is focused on how to expand our consciousness and transform us into visionaries. It shows us with vivid examples and documented data how some of the greatest men of Western culture fought against the established notion of religion to achieve their own sense of life and meaning. Wilson tells us about the importance of mental discipline and starts to sketch the value of his philosophy, The New Existentialism. This book is full of fascinating ideas, useful information and deep thinking about our main concerns as human beings. One ends up uplifted, wanting to know more, to learn more, to achieve more... An outstanding book to re-read and have by our side. Excellent from beginning to end. Not to be missed
October 3, 2017
A MUST FOR PASSIONATE THINKERS AND THOSE IN SEARCH FOR MEANING.
This book is not about religion in its traditional sense. It doesn’t try to convince us of the existence of God nor defends any particular religion. What it does is to illuminate us about our transcendental dimensions and remind us what it is to be fully alive. The book addresses the existential questions that we as Men have to face and emphasise that religion is nothing more (nor less) than our need for meaning. It is an enjoyable book full of wisdom, stimulating ideas and fascinating challenges. It helps us to understand who we are and enhance the idea of man and his potentialities. It is rare to find a book about religion and philosophy with such an uplifting effect. Wilson’s practical and positive philosophy is not about remembering dates and facts but about using the experiences and discoveries of great men for our own benefit. Second book of the Outsider Cycle, Religion and the Rebel is even more fascinating than the previous one.
This book is not about religion in its traditional sense. It doesn’t try to convince us of the existence of God nor defends any particular religion. What it does is to illuminate us about our transcendental dimensions and remind us what it is to be fully alive. The book addresses the existential questions that we as Men have to face and emphasise that religion is nothing more (nor less) than our need for meaning. It is an enjoyable book full of wisdom, stimulating ideas and fascinating challenges. It helps us to understand who we are and enhance the idea of man and his potentialities. It is rare to find a book about religion and philosophy with such an uplifting effect. Wilson’s practical and positive philosophy is not about remembering dates and facts but about using the experiences and discoveries of great men for our own benefit. Second book of the Outsider Cycle, Religion and the Rebel is even more fascinating than the previous one.
October 3, 2017
A MUST FOR PASSIONATE THINKERS AND THOSE IN SEARCH FOR MEANING.
This book is not about religion in its traditional sense. It doesn’t try to convince us of the existence of God nor defends any particular religion. What it does is to illuminate us about our transcendental dimensions and remind us what it is to be fully alive. The book addresses the existential questions that we as Men have to face and emphasise that religion is nothing more (nor less) than our need for meaning. It is an enjoyable book full of wisdom, stimulating ideas and fascinating challenges. It helps us to understand who we are and enhance the idea of man and his potentialities. It is rare to find a book about religion and philosophy with such an uplifting effect. Wilson’s practical and positive philosophy is not about remembering dates and facts but about using the experiences and discoveries of great men for our own benefit. Second book of the Outsider Cycle, Religion and the Rebel is even more fascinating than the previous one.
This book is not about religion in its traditional sense. It doesn’t try to convince us of the existence of God nor defends any particular religion. What it does is to illuminate us about our transcendental dimensions and remind us what it is to be fully alive. The book addresses the existential questions that we as Men have to face and emphasise that religion is nothing more (nor less) than our need for meaning. It is an enjoyable book full of wisdom, stimulating ideas and fascinating challenges. It helps us to understand who we are and enhance the idea of man and his potentialities. It is rare to find a book about religion and philosophy with such an uplifting effect. Wilson’s practical and positive philosophy is not about remembering dates and facts but about using the experiences and discoveries of great men for our own benefit. Second book of the Outsider Cycle, Religion and the Rebel is even more fascinating than the previous one.
August 30, 2014
This book was interesting albeit quite different from The Outsider. It is true that some of the ideas presented in this book are outdated and will immediately come across as old-fashioned.
The kind of ground Wilson covers as regards philosophy in this book include materialism, bifurcation of nature and abstract philosophy. Once again,like in The Outsider, Wilson continues with his assault against Humanism but in this book explores why he takes this stance.
In Religion and The Rebel there is more content regarding the science and mathematics of Existentialism and this is clear in the people that he mentions such as Pascal, Newton, Wittgenstein and Whitehead. There is also a discussion on Lamarkism Vs. Darwinism.
But moving onto the subject in the title of the book, regarding Religion there is content on The Age of Enlightenment, Medieval Christianity and Pauline Christianity.
Bernard Shaw seems to have had a big influence on the many ideas presented in this book. The section on Shaw is probably the longest in the book compared with the other people he has explored.
You may be wondering why you should read this book if some of the ideas are dated. The answer to this question is that there are many people who enjoyed The Outsider – but The Outsider wasn't a complete book and to understand the concept properly you need to have read the other 5 books in The Outsider Cycle.
do-not-read
June 15, 2019I've only read one of Wilson's books (G.I. Gurdjieff: The War Against Sleep), and that was many years ago. Having learnt more about Wilson since then, I'm not motivated to familiarize myself with his other publications. Substantial criticisms of Wilson have been made by others with far stronger claims to competence in this area. A good summary has been published in a recent blog post by independent writer, Kevin R. D. Shepherd, who has been writing critically about Wilson, and related figures, since the late 1970s. See Colin Wilson (posted January 2018).
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