Rise and Triumph of the Modern Self (Trueman) Review

[@HonestlyNow4Real]

Update: Trueman has done a shorter and more approachable rewrite of this book, called "Strange New World"

[@npickard4218]

Why is Joel worried that the book may get "weaponized?" First of all, weaponization is outside his locus of control. By even saying that it could be "weaponized" reveals that Joel is perhaps weaponizing it, if not intentionally then unintentionally. After all, it's the power of suggestion and weaponization is now what I'm thinking of. From my perspective - as a person who does not want to exacerbate the cultural divide - the verb 'weaponize' should be used very sparingly, indeed, rarely. If Trueman did not write in a polemical style, then why bring it up? I like Joel's book reviews but, in this case, I think he poisoned the waters.

[@RobertHickok]

Good review. Especially well done in the short time.

[@travispelletier3352]

As usual, excellent review. As to your mild criticism about the author not touching on the reformation, it's worth noting that he does speak to this question on pages 90-91. He briefly summarizes that he sees the motivations of the reformers of belonging strongly in the second world of Christian thought. The reformers thought they were returning to the real tradition, they did not primarily see themselves as iconoclasts breaking tradition. Of course, this short summary reveals the Protestant foundation he is working from. Catholics would disagree vehemently. Thanks for another thoughtful video!

[@Magnulus76]

They didn't see themselves returning to tradition as such. They were humanistic scholars questioning the received tradition.

[@travispelletier3352]

@@Magnulus76 That's just historically false. They saw themselves as more catholic than the Catholic church and consistently argued that they were the ones holding to the faith of the church fathers while the Papacy had fallen into various accretions.

[@connormonday]

Well organized review, thanks.

[@Enhancedlies]

i know i am exceptionally late, but i really enjoyed this and it has helped me to understand what I'm looking at! Keep it up

[@zaydmuhamed]

"How the Self got Psychologized, how Psychology got Sexualized, and how Sexuality got Politicized"

[@spikedaniels1528]

Hello again Joel, Do very much appreciate your product. Along side your Readability segment I would also enjoy a Believability segment (a bit more risky). If you needed to go to the dark web for that, I might follow (ha). Keep up the good work - always a pleasure. -D

[@JoelWentz]

Thanks Dan! In my first few reviews I ended on a "convincing?" segment, which sounds like what you're suggesting. I had a hard time consistently weaving that into the discussions, which is why I've changed it to "final thoughts" now, but perhaps I could bring it back....

[@ConstantinDV]

The "fear" that ideas and tought could be "weaponized" politically is the root of the full blown assault on free speech we witness in our time. You upgrade that position by cautioning about use that may not have been intended by the writer. What should be done, in your view, with ideas that you fear might be weaponized by some political faction?

[@JoelWentz]

I agree that this type of fear can lead to horrific abuse of free speech! I'm, personally, a big fan of open debate, and am extremely wary of the impulse to censor (particularly when the censoring party is the government). This is basically the "marketplace of ideas" concept, in which the hope is that the best ideas will outcompete the bad (kind of Darwinian, actually). That all said, the "idea marketplace" does not seem to function well in our social-media age. It's been well demonstrated that bad (and outright false) ideas actually do BETTER (in the sense that they spread and flourish) in social media than good and true ideas. This is concerning, and I'll be the first to say I'm not sure what should be done about it. It's why I tried to be honest and nuanced in this review - this book is a good example of ideas that absolutely need to be in the conversation. My so-called "fear" is more to do with how things get warped, twisted and abused in the social media sphere. I hope that makes sense, and thank you for checking out my channel!

[@ConstantinDV]

@@JoelWentz i think the market place of ideas should be the judge of what is true and correct. Coming from behind the Iron Curtain, the very last authority I would entrust with the power to decide what is true is the government. It may well be that supplanting the survival of the fittest evolutionary process even in the realm of ideas is a very, very bad idea and that inteligentsia's infatuation with rational planning and fact checking is a one way street to totalitarianism.

[@70galaxie]

Who's this fella, "Trueman"? Viewing your 2 files, regarding "anti-racism", is not confusing , just hard to get an informed opinion regarding your opinion. We live in a modern, thoughtful & thoughtless world.

[@ArkEleven1]

Excellent review

[@JoelWentz]

Thank you! Appreciate you checking out my work

[@Magnulus76]

"A man trapped in a woman's body" is not necessarily understood by trans people as a metaphysical statement. Sometimes it is seen as an analogy. Expressive individualism is an interesting concept, but Trueman really hasn't demonstrated what's problematic about it. Much of it is just an outgrowth of Christianity and its focus on individual dignity.

[@carlpeterson8182]

Did this text get weaponized like Du Mez' "Jesus and John Wayne: How White Evangelicals Corrupted a Faith and Fractured a Nation" I would think from what I know about Carl Trueman that he wrote a much more nuanced and careful text than Du Mez. Du Mez has basically said she filled her text with a lot of her own rhetoric.

[@hanskung3278]

Don't wag your finger at me sonny boy!

[@OtomaEdje]

Log edje books on your bookshelf. 🔥

[@Mi-sl8il]

Is that an Orthodox Christian icon on the shelf?

[@JoelWentz]

It is! It was given to me by a friend who visited Eastern Europe several years ago.

[@Mi-sl8il]

@@JoelWentz I guess that is how German people (in the first place) like to divide the Europe according to the Berlin Wall as a reference.

[@70galaxie]

.... content of your character(!) when mlk was still alive, was only 7 then.

[@jordanbey870]

Thats like saying I have an immortal sould trapped in my body..gnostic crap..

[@hanskung3278]

The diagnosis of western culture is nihilistic.

[@Parks179-h]

your critic of the protestant reformation is too much of a leap. It was not an abandonment of authority but rather a restoration of authority as seen in the solas. Ive heard this argument a lot and that that this view in and of itself, is quite a "weaponized" critic which paints the protestant reformation in a straw-man.