Freud: The Mind of the Moralist
by Philip Rieff
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Now a classic, this book was hailed upon its original publication in 1959 as "An event to be acclaimed . . . a book of genuine brilliance on Freud's cultural importance . . . a permanently valuable contribution to the human sciences."—Alastair MacIntyre, Manchester Guardian "This remarkably subtle and substantial book, with its nicely ordered sequences of skilled dissections and refined appraisals, is one of those rare products of profound analytic thought. . . . The author weighs each show more major article of the psychoanalytic canon in the scales of his sensitive understanding, then gives a superbly balanced judgement."—Henry A. Murray, American Sociological Review "Rieff's tremendous scholarship and rich reflections fill his pages with memorable treasures."—Robert W. White, Scientific American "Philip Rieff's book is a brilliant and beautifully reasoned example of what Freud's influence has really been: an increasing intellectual vigilance about human nature. . . . What the analyst does for the patient—present the terms for his new choices as a human being—Mr. Rieff does in respect to the cultural significance of Freudianism. His style has the same closeness, the same undertone of hypertense alertness. Again and again he makes brilliant points."—Alfred Kazin, The Reporter show lessTags
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Cited in Eliot Freidson's Profession of Medicine: A study of the Sociology of Applied Knowledge
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Author Information
11+ Works 950 Members
Philip Rieff (1922-2006) taught for most of his career at the University of Pennsylvania
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Series
Belongs to Publisher Series
Anchor Books (A278)
Common Knowledge
- Original publication date
- 1959
- People/Characters
- Sigmund Freud
- Dedication
- To My Parents and to My Son.
- First words
- There is a tantalizing remark early in Freud's Autobiographical Study (1925) to the effect that he had never really wanted to be a physician, that his entire scientific career was a detour leading away from his origi... (show all)nal interest in “human concerns” and “cultural problems.”
- Quotations
- The difference is that Wittgenstein, as a critic of philosophical language, ultimately preached a verbal quietism, saying “Whereof one cannot speak, one must be silent,” while Freud, as a critic of moral language, advocat... (show all)ed a verbal catharsis, whose motto might be “Whereof one cannot speak, one must say everything.”
- Last words
- (Click to show. Warning: May contain spoilers.)Aware at last that he is chronically ill, psychological man may nevertheless end the ancient quest of his predecessors for a healing doctrine. His experience with the latest one, Freud's, may finally teach him that every cure must expose him to a new illness.
Classifications
- Genres
- Nonfiction, General Nonfiction, Biography & Memoir, Philosophy, History
- DDC/MDS
- 150.19 — Philosophy & psychology Psychology Emotions, Relationships, & Family Theory And Instruction Systems, schools, viewpoints
- LCC
- BF173 .F85 .R48 — Philosophy, Psychology and Religion Psychology Psychology Psychoanalysis
- BISAC
Statistics
- Members
- 217
- Popularity
- 149,948
- Reviews
- 1
- Rating
- (4.10)
- Languages
- English, Italian
- Media
- Paper
- ISBNs
- 4
- ASINs
- 7
