The Quest for Being by Sidney Hook is a provocative and wide-ranging collection of philosophical essays that defends a naturalistic and scientific approach to questions of existence, knowledge, and meaning. Originally written between the 1930s and 1960s, these essays reflect Hook’s sustained engagement with debates in pragmatism, ethics, religion, and metaphysics, particularly his rejection of the idea that “being” or ultimate reality can be accessed through intuition, religious experience, or metaphysical speculation alone. Instead, Hook argues that philosophical inquiry must remain continuous with scientific method and empirical investigation. The volume—issued in this Prometheus “Great Books in Philosophy” edition—also includes discussions of determinism and moral responsibility, the cognitive status of religious belief, and the enduring conflict between materialist and idealist worldviews, making it both historically significant and still sharply relevant in contemporary philosophical discourse.
About the Author
Sidney Hook (1902–1989) was a prominent American philosopher and public intellectual associated with pragmatic naturalism and social philosophy. A student of John Dewey, Hook developed a philosophical outlook grounded in the belief that human knowledge should be tested through experience, inquiry, and scientific method rather than metaphysical or theological authority. Over his long career at New York University, he became known for his work in ethics, political theory, and the philosophy of education, as well as for his outspoken engagement in public debates on democracy, freedom, and ideology. His writings often challenge both religious absolutism and relativism, advocating instead for a disciplined, inquiry-based humanism that links philosophy closely to scientific reasoning and democratic life.
