Philip Elliot Slater (May 15, 1927 – June 20, 2013) was an American sociologist and writer. He was the author of the bestselling 1970 book on American culture, The Pursuit of Loneliness and of numerous other books and articles. Born in 1927 in Riverton, New Jersey, Slater served in the United States Merchant Marine during World War II. He died of cancer in Santa Cruz, California at 86.