FREUD: The Mind of the Moralist

by Philip Rieff ‧ RELEASE DATE: March 13, 1959

Drawing upon the total body of Freud's works, the clinical and cultural writings alike, Rieff seeks to construct Freud's attitude -- his personal approach- toward the plight of man, especially in its ethical aspects. Though he eschewed formal religion, philosophy and all other recognized standards of value; though he offered neither opinions, solutions nor beliefs, Rieff demonstrates that Freud did possess well-developed equivalents. Within his pessimism, skepticism and the extremes of glandular and subconscious motivation which he ascribed to human effort, Freud did set up and cherish certain ideals -- ideals of honesty between patient and therapist, presaging a new integrity between the individual and society; ideals of accepting the contradictions within the human personality, its frailty and its iron resistance to help, and basing our standards of human conduct upon the most reduced but realistic level. In short, Freud applied and extended his psychoanalytic findings to framing the viewpoint of nontherapeutic life, and just as he could give the patient nothing greater than insight, so he proposed for the world outside ever- increasing insights and the conditions of honesty and suspended logic in which this insight could best grow. The study is resourceful and often brilliant; it is a pleasure to read.

Pub Date: March 13, 1959

ISBN: 0226716392

Page Count: -

Publisher: Viking

Review Posted Online: N/A

Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 1, 1959

Categories: NONFICTION