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THE RISE AND TRIUMPH OF THE MODERN SELF: Cultural Amnesia, Expressive Individualism, and the Road to Sexual Revolution
CARL TRUEMAN with Foreword by Rod Dreher
“Carl Trueman explains modernity to the church, with depth, clarity, and force. The significance of The Rise and Triumph of the Modern Self . . . is hard to overstate.”
—Rod Dreher, from the Foreword
Modern culture is obsessed with identity. Since the landmark Obergefell v. Hodges Supreme Court decision in 2015, sexual identity has dominated both public discourse and cultural trends—yet no historical phenomenon is its own cause. From Augustine to Marx, various views and perspectives have contributed to the modern understanding of the self.
In this timely book, Carl Trueman analyzes the development of the sexual revolution as a symptom—rather than the cause—of the human search for identity. Trueman surveys the past, brings clarity to the present, and gives guidance for the future as Christians navigate the culture in humanity’s ever-changing quest for identity.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Foreword by Rod Dreher
Preface
Introduction
Part 1: Architecture of the Revolution
Reimagining the Self
Reimagining Our Culture
Part 2: Foundations of the Revolution
The Other Genevan: Jean-Jacques Rousseau and the Foundations of Modern Selfhood
Unacknowledged Legislators: Wordsworth, Shelley, and Blake
The Emergence of Plastic People: Nietzsche, Marx, and Darwin
Epilogue to Part 2: Reflections on the Foundations of the Revolution
Part 3: Sexualization of the Revolution
Sigmund Freud, Civilization, and Sex
The New Left and the Politicization of Sex
Epilogue to Part 3: Reflections on the Sexualization of the Revolution
Part 4: Triumphs of the Revolution
The Triumph of the Erotic
The Triumph of the Therapeutic
The Triumph of the T
Epilogue to Part 4: Reflections on the Triumphs of the Revolution
Concluding Unscientific Prologue
Index
ENDORSEMENTS
“I don’t think there will be a better-researched or more fascinating book in all of 2020.” Tim Challies, blogger, Challies.com
“This is a characteristically brilliant book by Carl Trueman, helping the church understand why people believe that sexual difference is a matter of psychological choice. Indeed, Trueman shows how the story we tell ourselves about normalized LGBTQ+ values is false and foolish. With wisdom and clarity, Trueman guides readers through the work of Charles Taylor, Philip Rieff, British Romantic poets, and Continental philosophers to trace the history of expressive individualism from the eighteenth century to the present. The rejection of mimesis (finding excellence by imitating something greater than yourself) for poiesis (finding authenticity by inventing yourself on your own terms), in addition to the Romantic movement’s welding of sexual expression as a building block of political liberation, ushers in the modern LGBTQ+ movement as if on cue. This book reveals how important it is for thinking Christians to distinguish virtue from virtue signaling. The former makes you brave; the latter renders you a man pleaser, which is a hard line to toe in a world where there are so few real men left to please.” Rosaria Butterfield, Former Professor of English, Syracuse University; author, The Gospel Comes with a House Key
“Moderns, especially Christian moderns, wonder how our society arrived at this strange moment when nearly everything about the self and sexuality that our grandparents believed is ridiculed. This genealogy of culture, clearly and elegantly written, will help all of us understand how we got to where we are, so that we can plot our own futures with more clarity and confidence. This book is a must-read for Christians and all others who are disturbed by the dictatorship of relativism that surrounds us.” Gerald R. McDermott, Former Anglican Chair of Divinity, Beeson Divinity School
Carl R. Trueman (PhD, University of Aberdeen) is professor of biblical and religious studies at Grove City College. He is an esteemed church historian and previously served as the William E. Simon Fellow in Religion and Public Life at Princeton University. Trueman has authored or edited more than a dozen books, including The Creedal Imperative; Luther on the Christian Life; and Histories and Fallacies. Trueman is a member of The Orthodox Presbyterian Church.
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