“The Rise and Triumph of the Modern Self”

This is one of the most complex books I will write about this year. “The Rise and Triumph of the Modern Self” is a very philosophical read by Dr. Carl R. Truman, a professor of biblical and religious studies at Grove City College. The book examines the idea of self as “the product of a much wider cultural phenomenon that has shaped the intuitions of those who are blissfully unaware of its various intellectual origins and metaphysical assumptions” (p. 39). Truman is concerned with helping the reader understand where his presumptions about the world come from and how they are different from past perspectives. 

This book lets the reader see that the past was drastically different from where they are now. People thought very differently about issues. Truman examines society’s evolution of thought on the self like one could examine the rise of technological communication at Union. You could look at the journey and change from intercoms to the blue and orange plugs in the dorm wall for the internet to uGroups. These trail marks along the path of the past still remain, but few notice them or even care. Truman, however, makes the reader realize the importance in understanding the origins of these arguments over selfhood if we are going to participate in the conversation today.

In the first chapter of the book, Truman introduces the reader to the concept of the social imaginary. He defines it as “The way people think about the world” (p. 37). He breaks down how this has changed in three parts. The first is entitled the architecture of the revolution which involved reimagining ourselves and our culture. He talks about Hegel and his focus on the individual's struggle for identity in society. The next section talks about Western culture and the removal of traditional value structures. One part of particular interest to myself is his subheading on deathworks. He explained these works as “an attack on established cultural art forms in a manner designed to undo the deeper moral structure of society.” One example he gave was Andres Serrano’s “Piss Christ,” a crucifix submerged in urine. Truman explains the piece saying “Its power lies not in any argument it proposes, but rather in the way the clean is subverted by the vile” (p. 97). Deathworks and a lot of modern art in general has been somewhat confusing and distasteful to me. Truman’s explanation of them though allows me to understand, but not really appreciate, these works.

The other sections of the book talk about the foundations of the revolution through Jean Jacques Rousseau, Nietzche, Marx and Darwin. Another fascinating chapter covers the sexualization of the self involving Sigmund Freud and Supreme Court cases. The last section covers the present in which the revolution of thinking on the self has triumphed and how Western culture has increasingly turned to the erotic and theraputic, as well as the emergence of the LGBTQ+ community. 

I would highly recommend this book for anyone interested in philosophy, ethics or history. It is anything but a light read, but the payoff is amazing.

By Sierra Lastine