Outsider: Summary and Review

Many of the historical and literary nonfiction heroes and artists of Colin Wilson's study entitled The Outsider desired to fit into their respective societal contexts. They sought happiness and connection, even if ultimately they were, because of their great gifts, denied some of the rewards of ordinary, lived experience. But despite this, they were not ostracized from the true, healthy essence of life. Rather, Wilson argues, these individuals were far more connected to the ebb and flow of what truly makes human beings human, namely a positive and engaged relationship with the natural, physical, and moral world.

Thus, this 1956 British study makes it clear that for true individuals of far-reaching visions, while such a constant state of fitting in is neither possible nor desirable to truly actualize a visionary's state of ultimate happiness, this does not mean that such super humans are less human because...
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