One of the twentieth century’s greatest philosophers presents the results of his lifetime study of man’s cultural achievements

An Essay on Man is an original synthesis of contemporary knowledge, a unique interpretation of the intellectual crisis of our time, and a brilliant vindication of man’s ability to resolve human problems by the courageous use of his mind. In a new introduction Peter E. Gordon situates the book among Cassirer’s greater body of work, and looks at why his “hymn to humanity in an inhuman age” still resonates with readers today.

“The best-balanced and most mature expression of [Cassirer’s] thought.”—Journal of Philosophy

“No reader of this book can fail to be struck by the grandeur of its program or by the sensitive humanism of the author.”—Ernest Nagel, The Humanist

“A rare work of philosophy and a rare work of art.”—Tomorrow

Ernst Cassirer (1874–1945) was the most prominent Neo-Kantian philosopher of the twentieth century. Peter E. Gordon is the Amabel B. James Professor of History and Faculty Affiliate in the Department of Germanic Languages and Literatures and in the Department of Philosophy at Harvard University.