A deeply flawed and important expression of modern conservative Platonism.

Classic

Weaver diagnoses the ills of modern times skillfully. Although first published in 1948 (by the University of Chicago Press), his analysis holds up remarkably well in our own time. A Classic.

This book is a marvel. It is an intrusion of a bygone era into the miasma of modernity. It is no wonder that the left loathes Weaver. His is a prophetic voice of denunciation against the tides of modernity assaulting human dignity and personhood.

Weaver argues that the Nominalism of William of Occam has opened the floodgates of relativism, egotism, and sentimentality upon the West, with little traction left for a revival of traditional values.

This is a remarkably dense book. His sentences are a mouthful, let alone a mindful. There is so much there. Take your time with this one and you'll be well rewarded. Just don't jump to the conclusion that he's a hopelessly irrelevant conservative and that our age knows better than the vision of tradition that Weaver so admires.

Top five. Thanks Dr. A

Sobering to think this book was written in 1948. Weaver talks about the decline of our society with the clarity of a prophet. From the back cover: "The catastrophes of our age are the product not of necessity but of unintelligent choice. A cure, he submits, is possible. It lies in the right use of man's reason, in the renewed acceptance of an absolute reality, and in the recognition that ideas--like actions--have consequences." It was distressing to realize as I read that we are getting dumber as a society all the time, less able and inclined to think, and so the decline seems unstoppable.

Well... Weaver had a lot of good ideas, but... at the same time, he got a lot of contradictions.
It's important to note that he wrote his book after the WWII, so his ideas must be evaluated with the eyes of that epoque.
Some of his thoughts are appropriate even if we think about today, specially his critics against media, or his interesting points of view when he defends private property.
The truth is I don't give more stars to the book because sometimes it was difficult for me to follow his ideas, not because of his reasoning, but because of his writing.

FULL of wisdom and insight. Puts the lie to all the liberal nonsense we try to live in today. Published in 1948. This man was a GENIOUS, but way more than just a GENIOUS. He was honest.

A startling diagnosis of Western civilization’s modern decline given its publishing in 1948. While certain points are a product of Weaver’s time (particularly his animosity toward jazz) and his attempts at offering solutions to this decline are not easily implemented, Richard M. Weaver’s modern philosophy is thought-provoking and caused me to think deeply about America’s modern tendencies.

Livro intrigante. Apesar de eu não ter tanta firmeza nas conclusões do autor, não tenho como negar que estão no caminho correto.
No mínimo o livro me fez pensar bastante. Sim. É um bom livro para ler de pouco em pouco e pensar bastante a cada pausa.

For a long time I was looking to read this book. I received a lecture on it about twenty years ago and since then the motto "ideas have consequences" have influenced my worldview. It is an amazing book and deserve our reading!

This is a book written in 1948 that tries to diagnose the ills of our time. It reminds me in many ways of C.S. Lewis' Abolition of Man. Weaver believes at the root of our troubles are changes that began in the 14th century by Willam of Occam who propounded the idea of nominalism. These ideas are pervasive in the way we tend to view reality, in politics, religion, art, etc. It's a critical book.
He makes quite a few generalizations about our modern age, some of which I don't find convincing, but I think this book is worth reading and thinking about.