The Real Is Not the Rational

What is real? What is man? Beginning with these two fundamental questions, The Real is not the Rational searches back into the history of philosophy for the development of these issues. It presents selected key stages in the history of the rationalist tradition, indicating the direction in which rationalism sought what is real. The role of non-rationalist tendencies within rationalism and the shift to an emphasis on the irrational in the nineteenth century are also examined. The study seeks alternatives to the rational-irrational dilemma-alternatives found in Heidegger, who takes the non-rational seriously. It also looks for alternatives in Buddhism, which dissolves the dichotomy between the rational and the irrational since its prime concern was never with reason, but has always been soteriological.

About the author

Joan Stambaugh is Professor of Philosophy at Hunter College of the City University of New York. She has published extensively and is the author of The Real is Not the Rational; The Finitude of Being; The Other Nietzsche; and is the translator of Martin Heidegger's Being and Time, all published by SUNY Press.

Product details

• Authors: Joan Stambaugh
• Publisher: State University of New York Press
• Languages: English
• Product format: Hardback
• Released: 30.06.1986
• EAN: 9780887061660
• ISBN: 978-0-88706-166-0
• No. of pages: 130
• Weight: 363 g
• Series: Suny Series in Buddhist Studie; Suny Series in Buddhist Studie; Suny Buddhist Studies
• Subjects: Humanities, art, music > Religion/theology > Other religions; Non-fiction book > Philosophy, religion > Philosophy: general, reference works