Philip Rieff: Culture, Religion & Self (2025 Conference) - The Sower Episode 72 (audio)

This special episode is an excerpt from a panel at our 2025 annual conference in Harrisonburg, Virginia. The panel title was "Philip Rieff: Cultural Conflict, Religion and the Self." After a prayer and brief introduction, we hear the following speakers. First, Michael Harding of Montgomery College, with "Rieff’s Use of Nietzsche in Deathworks." Second, William Batchelder of Waynesburg University, on "The Impossibility of Charisma in the Modern Context." Third, Ethan Alexander-Davey of Campbell University, with "The Role of Elites in Formation and Deformation." Fourth, Albert Norton, independent scholar, on "Identity in the Therapeutic Age." Following the fourth speaker is a 13 minute question and answer period. Mr. Norton was interviewed in Episode 40 of The Sower, and Drs. Harding and Batchelder most recently appeared in Episode 69, an introduction to the work of Philip Rieff. Dr. Alexander-Davey is an occasional host of The Sower. Dr. Anadale's YouTube channel is here: https://www.youtube.com/@ChristopherAnadale If you enjoyed this episode, please consider attending our March 2026 annual conference, in Omaha, Nebraska. For details, go to https://ciceroniansociety.org/. 0:00 Episode Introduction (Anadale)2:17 Panel Introduction (Batchelder)5:38 Nietzsche (Harding)31:52 Charisma (Batchelder)50:34 Elites (Alexander-Davey)1:05:02 Identity (Norton)1:19:01 Q&A