The Philosophy of Philip Rieff

Arguing that Philip Rieff was a Freudian who departed in vital and fascinating ways from Freud, and a committed modern who nevertheless viewed modernity as a disaster, this book makes clear his thought transcends contemporary left-right culture war dichotomies.

Alasdair MacIntyre described Rieff's early work as 'a permanently valuable contribution to the human sciences.' The essays in this volume engage with Rieff's teaching, both early and late, across a number of different axes and from a number of disciplinary perspectives, placing him into dialogue with thinkers such as Plato, Nietzsche, Freud, Weber, Heidegger, Strauss, Pieper, Wilde and more. The Philosophy of Philip Rieff conveys the utility of Rieff's theory for thinking through various contemporary issues, from religion, culture and race, to the role of elites in a democratic society. Philip Rieff's thought offers a key to unlocking the cultural trajectories of late modernity, and this interdisciplinary volume engages that work in its depth and complexity while suggesting Rieff's place in the wider philosophic tradition.