The Rise and Triumph of the Modern Self by Carl R. Trueman

Literary criticism

Carl R. Trueman's work “The Triumph of the Modern Self” is an in-depth analysis of the cultural and psychological changes that have led to today's conception of the self.

Trueman is a historian and theologian and traces in detail the path that our Western society has taken from traditional self-understandings to an expressive individualism. He combines philosophy, psychology, sociology and theology to explain how concepts such as “identity” and “self-determination” have taken on their current form. He starts with Romanticism and leads through Freud and the Sexual Revolution to the current debates on gender identity.

The historical classification is both informative and critical. It questions how and why priorities in self-perception have shifted. Trueman's strength lies in his ability to make complex ideas accessible, as the text is sophisticated, but not too complicated, and thus always remains comprehensible. He uses works by philosophers such as Charles Taylor and Philip Rieff to illustrate how deeply rooted the idea of the inner self and its authenticity is in modern culture. However, he remains fair to the thinkers he quotes, even if he is critical of their positions. His Christian theological background influences his analysis, particularly when it comes to assessing modern developments, which he often, understandably, portrays as a decline in traditional values. “The Triumph of the Modern Self” is a very important book because it encourages the reader to reflect on how we arrived at today's assumptions about the self and what consequences this has for us in our time. Never before have these insights had such a drastic impact as they do today. The book calls for a reflection on what it means to live in a time when the individual and their innermost desires are more central than ever and the world around them is becoming increasingly selfish.

The book was very eye-opening for me, as I was not aware of the negative influence that Freud, Rousseau, Marx, Nietzsche or Marcuse played, or still play today due to these overall social changes. After all, these are all names that have shaped our Western society. Unfortunately, many views are no longer really questioned. On the contrary, I read Marx in history lessons, but with a positive note rather than questioning him critically.

Overall, Trueman offers a well-founded, if not uncontroversial, critique of modernity that is strongly convincing in its depth and its claim to place cultural phenomena in their historical context. It is a book worth reading for both proponents and critics of modern identity politics, as it sharpens understanding of the long evolution behind today's debates. For Christians who take a critical view of the current zeitgeist and, above all, want to understand it, I believe it is a must-read.