[beckett]

Posted this for the great quote on abortion (follow link) that I hope will gain a little traction in the culture. Rieff was always very quotable.

[beckett]

Here's the quote for those who choose not to follow the link:

""He called legalized abortion "an odorless flush-away world indifferent to life...""

[GSlob]

"He was a campus legend at the University of Pennsylvania, where he banned note-taking in some classes, believing that it prevented students from engaging with texts"
An interesting technique. It would surely promote memory development.

[l33t]

"Known for his mordant writing, Dr. Rieff argued that traditionally the primary function of culture was to integrate individuals into a larger corporate body. He showed how art and literature weren't just aesthetic pursuits but tools to teach people morality. To see Hamlet was as much an object lesson about duty as a leisure activity."

"In modernity, Dr. Rieff wrote, this has been supplanted by the idea that culture is there merely for our gratification. This, he said, teaches that we have no ultimate goals or a higher good, except an obsession to maximize individual advantage and pleasure."

Food for thought for libertarian dogmatists. http://www.philly.com/mld/inquirer/news/local/states/pennsylvania/14966509.htm

[Oratam]

I just this morning read National Review's review of his recently released book, My Life Among the Deathworks. The book is actually the first volume of three attacking the modern Godless world shaped largely by fellas like Nietzsche, Freud, Wilde, Joyce and . . . Wallace Stevens. (Hey, I recognized 4 out of 5 of 'em.)

I doubt very much it will be required reading at any of our nation's colleges any time soon.

[fieldmarshaldj]

Rest in peace.