Review: The Rise and Triumph of the Modern Self

 

            The Rise and Triumph of the Modern Self: Cultural Amnesia, Expressive Individualism, and the Road to Sexual Revolution is Carl R. Trueman’s latest book.  I was interested in this book having read Trueman before, but even more so hearing people from a variety of backgrounds commending it.

            Trueman says, “The origins of this book lie in my curiosity about how and why a particular statement has come to be regarded as coherent and meaningful: ‘I am a woman trapped in a man’s body’” (19).

            Trueman argues that this can only be understood in understanding how we have come to our current understanding of “human selfhood” (20).

            In the first part of the book, Trueman examines the concepts which he will look at historically in the second section of the book.  In the second section, beginning with the philosophy of Rousseau, Trueman plots the course of how our understand of self has changed.  In the third section, Trueman deals with “the sexualizing of psychology and the politicizing of sex.”  Finally, he looks at several contemporary issues and how they might be addressed (26-29).

            Trueman argues that removing any sense of foundation -- or objective reality -- has led to the enshrinement of feelings and the codifying of one’s actions as one’s being (cf. 102).  Such thought leaves reality – and the meaning of “self” like a boat without a rudder.

            To put a beginning to this change, Trueman looks to Rousseau (107). Rousseau argues that humans are born good and ethical but are corrupted by society.  In other words, what we feel is reality above and beyond any societal norm (123).  “Ethically speaking, taste becomes truth” (161).  Trueman traces the development of these beliefs through various writers up to the modern day.

            One outgrowth of this thinking is that sexuality is now considered identity (202). Sexuality has been moved out of the sphere of morality.  And anyone who argues against one feeling their way into sexual identity is put down by coercion of the government – in one way or another (253).  See the politicization of sexuality in our current political dialogue.

            Trueman looks at how this is seen in the triumph of the erotic, the therapeutic, the transgender movement, and the revolution of the self.

            The separation of gender from sex, Trueman argues, definitionally does away with them both – definition is subjective, and ultimately meaningless (373).

            Trueman says, “this book is neither a lament nor a polemic.  It is rather an attempt to explain how the revolution of the self came to take the form it has in the West and why that is so culturally significant” (382).

            Trueman concludes with thoughts for the Church:

            1. We need to seriously reflect on the connection between aesthetics and our beliefs and practices (402).

            2. We must be a true community (404).

            3. We need to have a high view of natural law and the physical body (405).

            The book has a lengthy index.

            This is an in-depth examination of the understanding of self today, how we got here, and what it means for us and our future – and the Church.  What I have written is only a glimpse into this work – one anyone interested in understanding the issues of the day in education, politics,

            [This review appears on my blog, Amazon.com, and Goodreads.com.]