Charisma : The Gift of Grace, and How It Has Been Taken Away from Us - Philip Rieff

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Charisma

The Gift of Grace, and How It Has Been Taken Away from Us

By: Philip Rieff

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Paperback | 11 March 2008

At a Glance

Paperback
288 Pages

Dimensions(cm)
20.1 x 13.4 x 1.8

Paperback

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From a profoundly influential social theorist, an erudite, impassioned, and surprising history of charisma that reveals its remarkable religious origins. FIRST TIME IN PAPERBACK. VINTAGE.

From a profoundly influential social theorist comes a posthumously published analysis of the deepest level of crisis in our culture.

"A compelling diagnosis of our condition." -The Wall Street Journal

According to Rieff, the contemporary notion of charisma-the personal magnetism of political leaders or movie stars-is a tragic misunderstanding of a profoundly important concept. Charisma originally meant religious grace and authority transferred through divine inspiration, before it evolved into little more than a form of celebrity stripped of moral considerations. Rieff argues that without morality, the gift of grace becomes indistinguishable from the gift of evil and devolves into a license to destroy in the name of faith or ideology. Offering brilliant interpretations of Kierkegaard, Weber, Kafka, Nietzsche, and Freud, Rieff shows how certain thinkers attacked the very possibility of faith and genuine charisma and helped prepare the way for a therapeutic culture in which it is impossible to recognize anything as sacred.

Industry Reviews

"[Rieff is] indisputably one of the most powerful American intellects of the past century, a man of almost staggering erudtion who developed a faith-based critique of modernity and postmodernity that we ignore at the peril . . . of our souls." --BookForum "A compelling diagnosis of our condition." --The Wall Street Journal"Magnificent. . . . Few intellectuals of recent decades have a better track record of identifying blind spots in the higher common sense." --The New York Times Book Review"Subtle and convincing." --The New York Sun

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