The "impure thinker" title reflects the author's escape from the bounds set by academic tradition, his belief that thought must be accompanied by passionate convictions and engagement, and that sterile intellect is a disease.

While apparently unrelated, the essays nevertheless have an underlying unity, which runs through his discussion of the concepts of William James, the Gospels, the Egyptian symbol of Ka, and other uncommon sources.

'"[1] It has been recognized as a summary of Rosenstock-Huessy's insights into Western culture by such thinkers as W. H. Auden, Dietrich Bonhoeffer, Martin E. Marty, and Harold J. Berman.

It is a means of survival.The emphasis upon his impurity is, in large part, one further missive directed at the claims of philosophers who wish, through reason, to achieve truth in its purity.

Not Rosenstock-Huessy's at first glance: "I am an impure thinker, I am hurt, swayed, shaken, elated, disillusioned, shocked, comforted, and I have to transmit my mental experiences lest I die.