My contention is that The Outsider contains the key idea to understanding the twentieth century, and that it contains all the seminal ideas of Wilson's later works, though I would agree quickly that Wilson was probably unaware at that time of the direction his theories would take. The initial premise in The Outsider is that since about 1800, with the development of the Romantic Movement in art, literature, and philosophy, a group of outstanding individuals has developed who are no longer satisfied with the dead-end streets of scientific or existential thought. They insist upon breaking out of their "prisons" of the mind in search of ultimate reality, whatever that may be…. In defending his outsider concept, Wilson has surveyed the works of a staggering number of writers, artists, and philosophers. (p. 63)

Wilson has said that, for the sake of convenience, his starting point lies in William James's essay "The...