The Rise and Triumph of the Modern Self

At a time of dramatic turmoil and change on all fronts in society — from the status of the nation state to identity politics to educations to the nature of morality — the question arises: Is there any unifying narrative that allows us to make some sense of the chaos? The answer is yes, that the underlying notion of human identity, what it means to be a ‘self’ has been transformed over the last three hundred years. Only as we grasp the dynamics of this transformation can we both come to understand what is happening in our world and begin to frame a helpful response.

Recommended reading from Dr. Trueman:

• The Rise and Triumph of the Modern Self: Cultural Amnesia, Expressive Individualism, and the Road to Sexual Revolution by Dr. Trueman.
• The Rise of “Psychological Man” by Dr. Trueman
• The Triumph of the Sexual Revolution Seems Stunningly Swift. But Its Roots Go Back Centuries. A review of Dr Trueman’s book by Timothy Kleiser on Christianitytoday.com

Dr. Carl R. Trueman 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 and was on the faculty at Westminster Theological Seminary. He holds a Ph.D. in Church History from the University of Aberdeen and an M.A. in Classics from the University of Cambridge.

Trueman has written or edited more than a dozen books, including: Luther’s Legacy: Salvation and English Reformers, 1525-1556;, John Owen: Reformed Catholic, Renaissance Man; The Creedal Imperative; and the forthcoming The Rise and Triumph of the Modern Self: Cultural Amnesia, Expressive Individualism, and the Road to Sexual Revolution, which is slated for publication in November. He is a regular contributor to the influential journal First Things, co-hosts The Mortification of Spin podcast and is a regular contributor to its blog.