Speedos or Shorts? Bikinis or Bathing Suits?

by Carl R. Trueman

The world that Reich built does not simply want to revise concepts of sexual decorum; It wants to eradicate them.
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9 Feb 2016

Lacan v. Foucault

by Peter J. Leithart

On the postmodern search for transcendence.  Continue Reading »

23 Jun 2015

Letters

by Various

FREUD While “The Back Page” is usually my favorite part of First Things, I must object to David Bentley Hart’s characterization of Freudian psychotherapy as deterministic in “­Roland on Free Will” (February). As a psy­chiatrist who has practiced and taught psychodynamic psycho­therapy . . . . Continue Reading »

1 Apr 2015

Carl’s Rock Songbook #25: Simon and Garfunkel, “Sounds of Silence”

by Carl Scott

Sounds of Silence, as few other songs can, gives one a genuine scare regarding modern life. It is like pages out of Spengler, or Rousseau, condensed to a poetic moment. How does it do this? I’m sure much could be explained by the ominous melody, and the way the cherubic voices are contrasted . . . . Continue Reading »

24 Oct 2011

What Face Transplants Tell Us About Our Souls

by Austin Stone

"Socially crippled" — strangely, this phrase appears to be kosher while regular-old-crippled is out ("differently abled, thank you"). Either way, at Slate, William Saletan is raising a ruckus over the notion that "appearance alone can be grounds for a potentially . . . . Continue Reading »

18 Dec 2008

Moral Kitsch, Nihilist Disgust, and the Strange Truth About our Souls

by Austin Stone

A maximalist, Mr. Luhrmann doesn’t simply want to rouse your laughter and tears: he wants to rouse you out of a sensory-overloaded stupor with jolts of passion and fabulous visions. That may make him sound a wee bit Brechtian, but he’s really just an old-fashioned movie man, the kind . . . . Continue Reading »

26 Nov 2008

Religion and the Common Good

by Charles J. Chaput, O.F.M. Cap.

Sooner or later, every teacher hears the same old joke about the philosophy student and his dad.The dad asks, “Son, what are you going to do with that goofy degree?” And the son says, “I’m going to open a philosophy shop and make big money selling ideas.” I smile every time I hear it, . . . . Continue Reading »

24 Apr 2007