Origins of the Self and the Secular Age

Duke University's Department of Political Science hosted philosopher Charles Taylor at its Political Theory Workshop on November 19, 2014.
Taylor is a renowned Canadian philosopher who's know for his works: "A Secular Age", "Sources of the Self: The Making of the Modern Identity", and "The Ethics of Authenticity".

[@MrLeadman12]

Giving a summary of a great book with its author sitting right next to you. Must have been surreal.

[@JonathanBowen7000]

@41:30--this broke the fourth wall for me!

[@redtaperecorder1]

The question or the response?

[@joeruf6526]

Secular Age was a great book.

[@ignamagan]

1:14:00 I think a situation or agreement in purpose and ideas has to be reached prior to the definition of a procedural or dogmatic approach to this questions. Like the elaboration of a constitution needs a lot of previous agreements. I think Kant is an example of this.

[@ignamagan]

11:38 It is a political matter. If there is no "unitary agency", there is no common ground where we can discuss and agree how to organice society. That situation can be kept unresolved (as it is at the present moment) but it shouldn´t be abandoned altogether or kept out of sight for too long, because it could become suddenly urgent.

[@mieliav]

too bad the audio was so uneven. otherwise, v interesting discussion for an outsider.

[@sunburnfm]

I think it was that his words didn't entirely come out. He didn't finish his sentences.

[@arjunwadhwani3974]

This is what has come about in our existential crisis in the country ; to cope with the friday prayer honchos, the jesus christ honchos, the maratha kingdom honchos, the sindhi community honchod and an arranged marriage honcho. Survey the arranged marriages scenario in the country and you will form your own inference. This is what the country is all about keeps asking for more and more.

[@g.clark.newman]

Is that Jedadiah Purdy asking a question at around the 34:00 point?

[@mekahlimoufida915]

اريد الترجمة الي اللغة العربية

[@emileemilp48]

Taylor seems confused. My understanding of his thought is that it is impressionistic and conceptualist.

[@rossharmonics]

I think he's as lucid but (being my 70s myself) sometimes words don't come from your brain as fast as they used to. You know you have a better way of expressing yourself but in actual conversation you make do with an expression that is inferior to the way than you would a decade earlier.

[@kimfreeborn]

Taylor has no grounds upon which to say that any norm is better than any other. In the end he is a relativist. Foucault is more honest. Pluralism or Multiculturalism is just an arbitrary form of power.

[@bakunfase8672]

Way to miss the point so hard

[@kimfreeborn]

@@bakunfase8672 What is the point? The Multiculturalism of Taylor has made Quebec no more tolerant: probably less so. Quebec furthermore never bought into Multiculturalism anyway. We just opened the door to intolerant collectivities that further erode any Canadian identity. He has no solution.