A new edition of a major philosophical work This remarkable text, first published in 1964, was a landmark of its era and remains, in the words of Michael Löwy, a work of “remarkable richness.” Drawing on Georg Lukács’ History and Class Consciousness , Lucien Goldmann applies the concept of “world visions” to flesh out the similarities between Pascal’s Pensées and Kant’s critical philosophy, contrasting them with the rationalism of Descartes and the empiricism of Hume. For Goldmann, a leading exponent of the most fruitful method of applying Marxist ideas to literary and philosophical problems, the “tragic vision” marked an important phase in the development of European thought, as it moved from rationalism and empiricism to the dialectical philosophy of Hegel, Marx and Lukàcs. Here he offers a general approach to the problems of philosophy, of literary criticism, and of the relationship between thought and action in human society.

For centuries, the author argues, Christian theology has preached the Cross and denied the tragic reality of the human condition. At the same time the secular world has denied the Cross and absorbed endless acts of violence and disaster. This book is not concerned with the horrors of war and reality of conflict, but with their constant pressure upon Western culture. Starting with the Biblical tradition and recalling the triumphs of the Athenian stage, the author traces the vitality of both through the development of the theatre and of European literature. This survey ends in the 20th century and draws conclusions which are critical of cheap religiosity. It proposes an acceptable synthesis of Christian existence and tragic involvement.