“Oh, the humanity!”: Kurt Vonnegut and rational emotive behavior therapy's existential rejoinder to the irrationality of the human condition.

Abstract

The frequent absurdity and enduring irrationality of the human condition has long been a subject of inquiry by philosophy, literature, and other traditional humanities. This article argues that expanding the disciplinary scope of this inquiry to include psychology provides a fertile field of ideas for how we can best respond to a condition that continually affects us all. Using an interdisciplinary approach combining literature, existential philosophy, and humanistic psychology, this article shows how particular works of Kurt Vonnegut illuminate existential principles of the popular form of psychotherapy, Rational Emotive Behavior Therapy, while suggesting an optimal response to our common condition.