Paul Goodman (1911-1972) was a philosopher and humanist whose book Growing Up Absurd established him as "the philosopher of the New Left" in the 1960s.  An anarchist and a pacifist, he wrote theoretical and practical treatises on politics, education, language, and literature, but his own judgment was that his literary work--novels, stories, poems, and plays--was his best.  His writings included Communitas (1947, with his brother, Percival Goodman) and Gestalt Therapy (1951, with F. S. Perls and Ralph Hefferline).   Goodman was born in Manhattan, attended City College of New York, and was trained in philosophy at the University of Chicago.

Links:

Introduction to the Gestalt Press edition of  Nature Heals: The Psychological Essays of Paul Goodman, edited by Taylor Stoehr.

A page of links to Goodman's writings on the web on the PreserveNet home page.

Several pages devoted to Goodman in the "Anarchist Archives," including a biography, links to a number of his writings, an annotated bibliography, and some photos.  The archives are a project of Dana Ward, professor of political studies at Pitzer College.

Audio of Paul Goodman speaking about the Free Speech Movement at UC Berkeley and university reform (from the 1960s, about 79 min.)

Interview with Paul Goodman (Freedom Press, 1968).

Reviews of two books about Goodman from Zmagazine (1995)

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Updated December 19, 2000