Strange New World: How Thinkers and Activists Redefined Identity and Sparked the Sexual Revolution by Carl R. Trueman

Author:Carl R. Trueman [Trueman, Carl R.]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Religion, Christian Living, Social Issues, Requested
ISBN: 9781433579332
Google: kDNVEAAAQBAJ
Publisher: Crossway
Published: 2022-03-14T23:00:00+00:00

6

Plastic People, Liquid World

Introduction

The narrative of chapters 2 to 5 is not in any sense exhaustive, but it does indicate the major contours of the modern self: the emphasis on the authority of our inner feelings; the centrality of sexual desire to this; the way in which this is now a political and not merely a personal matter; and the various cultural and technological factors that have also served to promote this way of understanding the self.

Before moving to look at some specific ways in which this modern notion of selfhood is reshaping our world, it will be useful to reflect upon a few important general concepts that provide a framework for better understanding the particular issues that face us. The first is the nature of personhood; the second is the politics of recognition; and the third is the power of imagined communities. Reflecting upon these three will help us to understand the distinctive nature of the culture in which we now find ourselves. For our culture is one marked by plastic people who believe they can make and remake themselves at will; and by a liquid world in which, to borrow a phrase from Karl Marx, all that is solid seems continually to melt into air. The coincidence of these two things—plastic people and a liquid world—is central to the issues we now face in our culture, from identity politics and LGBTQ+ rights to the growing impatience in some quarters with traditional freedoms such as those of speech and religion. But before we can look at those specifically, we need first to clarify the terms of discussion.

What Is a Person?

When we reflect upon personal identity, it quickly becomes clear that we are more than that of which we are made. What exactly do I mean by this? Well, there is a sense in which I could be defined in terms of the various chemical compounds that make up my body—water, salt, fats. That might not, of course, be sufficient to define me as this particular individual, but this could easily be rectified with attention to my genetic code. Were I to commit a crime, for example, and leave some droplets of blood or a few skin cells at the scene, a forensic scientist would be able to prove that I, and not some other character, was present when the burglary was committed.

And yet if I am asked who I am, it is very unlikely that I am going to respond by telling the inquirer my genetic code. It is true that the chemicals that constitute my body and the genetic code that provides my unique biological nature are what I am. But they are not who I am. To be a person is to be something more. It is to be someone with a particular history. To ask who I am is not to demand to know what makes me biologically distinct from other human beings but to ask about my life, about the people, places, actions, and events that have shaped my sense of identity.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.