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Single Idea 4006

[filed under theme 16. Persons / E. Rejecting the Self / 3. Narrative Self ]

Full Idea

As a being who grows and becomes I can only know myself through the history of my maturations and regressions, overcomings and defeats.

Gist of Idea

I can only be aware of myself as a person who changes by means of my personal history

Source

Charles Taylor (Sources of the Self [1989], §2.3)

Book Ref

Taylor,Charles: 'Sources of the Self' [CUP 1992], p.50


A Reaction

An important insight. My immediate sense of self makes my personal history central, not an extra. But a history must be a history OF something.


The 17 ideas from Charles Taylor

If the state is neutral, there won't be sufficient community to support a welfare state [Taylor,C, by Kymlicka]
The social contract sees society as constituted by and for individuals [Taylor,C]
Assigning a right based on a human capacity implies that the capacity should be developed [Taylor,C]
A right is not just a rule, but also asserts certain ideas of moral worth [Taylor,C]
For most people the primacy of rights mainly concerns freedom [Taylor,C]
Property is not essential for life, but it may be essential for independence [Taylor,C]
Our reliance on other people close to us does not imply any political obligations [Taylor,C]
If freedom depends on society and culture, the greatest freedom is in shaping them [Taylor,C]
Selfhood and moral values are inextricably intertwined [Taylor,C]
To have respect for people, you must feel their claims, or their injustices, or hold them in awe [Taylor,C]
Consistency presupposes intrinsic description [Taylor,C]
I can only be aware of myself as a person who changes by means of my personal history [Taylor,C]
In later utilitarianism the modern stress on freedom leads to the rejection of paternalism [Taylor,C]
Nominalists defended the sovereignty of God against the idea of natural existing good and evil [Taylor,C]
My aim is to map the connections between our sense of self and our moral understanding [Taylor,C]
The modern self has disengaged reason, self-exploration, and personal commitment [Taylor,C]
Willingness to risk life was the constitutive quality of the man of honour [Taylor,C]