The Angst of the Modern Self
In concluding Part 1 of his book, God Freedom, and Human Dignity, Highfield observes that "If we learned about the human condition only from the high-flying rhetoric of the modern self, we would imagine humanity a race of gods. Given only the descriptions of Mirandola, Descartes and Rousseau, beings from another galaxy might imagine human beings as winged creatures in graceful flight, their noble faces shining with cool pride as they survey their broad domain. Their freedom knows no limit, their dignity exceeds all bounds and their power dwarfs all competitors. Ah, but we know the human condition too well for such illusions!...Anxiety, weakness, suffering, sadness, futility and despair mark its path from start to finish" (102).
There is an enormous disparity between the inflated self-understanding of the modern self and the reality of the world we have made for ourselves in the modern age, especially with all the technological capabilities at our disposal.
I have worked at a university for ten years and have seen the radical and shocking decline of the emotional and mental health of young adults as they enter college. And as a pastor I witness first hand the struggle that most people have to keep their head above the waters of anxiety, despair, sadness, and the seaming futility of life. In my experience, there has been a radical decline in quality of life in the past ten years--in relationships, sense of purpose, and ability to give attention to things that matter. Recently, many have demonstrated quite convincingly the role that technology, especially the Internet, social media, and the smart phone, have had in this rapid decline. I do not wish to dispute that. But I don't think that technology in and of itself is entirely to blame. What many cultural critics have not sought to explore is the way in which technology only seems to exacerbate the modern self's dead end assumptions about what it means to be human. Technology, no doubt, shapes who we think we are, why we think we are here, and what a good life is. But we also engage in technology with a myriad of already-formed assumptions about what it means to be human--and for the most part, technology reinforces these assumptions.
Highfield shows the inherent dead end of the modern conception of self. He shows how the assumptions of the modern self can only disappoint and frustrate. The modern self locates freedom and dignity solely within the self without any reference to external norms. But even with the aid of technology we learn that we do not have all that we need within ourselves. The modern self's worth is derived from the ability to self-create and self-determine. And yet, we do not have what we need in and of ourselves to be able to do that. What is more, our achievements are limited by our talents, aptitudes, and capabilities, which we did not give to ourselves but were instead given to us.
The modern condition has taught us that we are not complete within ourselves, if we have ears to hear. We do not have complete knowledge of our selves (just ask anyone who knows you well!). And since we don't have full knowledge of our selves, we are unable to discern who we are and what is good in the midst of all the desires within us that so often compete against one another. We cannot be all the selves that our desires want to be. How shall we choose?
What is more, our desires, in order to be fulfilled, need means to complete them. This is one of the promises of technology in its various forms--that with an app or a device or a technique--we can fulfill our desires.--by ourselves, we say, without dependence upon another (except the dependence we have on the technology that we need). But we even with this new means of technology, we still run into the reality that we don't have the means to be all that our desires want to be.
Along with our limited knowledge of self comes our incomplete knowledge of what is truly good. We have nothing reliable to ground us, to orient us, or to sustain us.
The result is restlessness, fragmentation, and a deep sense of dissatisfaction. The result is that we must compete each day for our dignity and worth. We are only as good as our last performance, our last instantiation of self-determination and self-creating. The result is that we spend a vast amount of energy trying to sustain the illusion of control, self-creation, and self-determination. Most grow weary from this very quickly, and so resort to some form of distraction or numbing--something to keep our minds off of the anxiety, futility, and disappointment.
The modern era is marked by pain and paradox. Pain, because we cannot be what we think we are. Paradox because we are so woefully not what we think we are.
But disappointment can be good. Frustration can lead us to the truth. If we have ears to hear. If we allow our pain to speak to us, and lead us to the One who does not crowd out others or live by absorbing others, but who wills to share Himself so that others freely enjoy what He delights in from eternity.
There is an enormous disparity between the inflated self-understanding of the modern self and the reality of the world we have made for ourselves in the modern age, especially with all the technological capabilities at our disposal.
I have worked at a university for ten years and have seen the radical and shocking decline of the emotional and mental health of young adults as they enter college. And as a pastor I witness first hand the struggle that most people have to keep their head above the waters of anxiety, despair, sadness, and the seaming futility of life. In my experience, there has been a radical decline in quality of life in the past ten years--in relationships, sense of purpose, and ability to give attention to things that matter. Recently, many have demonstrated quite convincingly the role that technology, especially the Internet, social media, and the smart phone, have had in this rapid decline. I do not wish to dispute that. But I don't think that technology in and of itself is entirely to blame. What many cultural critics have not sought to explore is the way in which technology only seems to exacerbate the modern self's dead end assumptions about what it means to be human. Technology, no doubt, shapes who we think we are, why we think we are here, and what a good life is. But we also engage in technology with a myriad of already-formed assumptions about what it means to be human--and for the most part, technology reinforces these assumptions.
Highfield shows the inherent dead end of the modern conception of self. He shows how the assumptions of the modern self can only disappoint and frustrate. The modern self locates freedom and dignity solely within the self without any reference to external norms. But even with the aid of technology we learn that we do not have all that we need within ourselves. The modern self's worth is derived from the ability to self-create and self-determine. And yet, we do not have what we need in and of ourselves to be able to do that. What is more, our achievements are limited by our talents, aptitudes, and capabilities, which we did not give to ourselves but were instead given to us.
The modern condition has taught us that we are not complete within ourselves, if we have ears to hear. We do not have complete knowledge of our selves (just ask anyone who knows you well!). And since we don't have full knowledge of our selves, we are unable to discern who we are and what is good in the midst of all the desires within us that so often compete against one another. We cannot be all the selves that our desires want to be. How shall we choose?
What is more, our desires, in order to be fulfilled, need means to complete them. This is one of the promises of technology in its various forms--that with an app or a device or a technique--we can fulfill our desires.--by ourselves, we say, without dependence upon another (except the dependence we have on the technology that we need). But we even with this new means of technology, we still run into the reality that we don't have the means to be all that our desires want to be.
Along with our limited knowledge of self comes our incomplete knowledge of what is truly good. We have nothing reliable to ground us, to orient us, or to sustain us.
The result is restlessness, fragmentation, and a deep sense of dissatisfaction. The result is that we must compete each day for our dignity and worth. We are only as good as our last performance, our last instantiation of self-determination and self-creating. The result is that we spend a vast amount of energy trying to sustain the illusion of control, self-creation, and self-determination. Most grow weary from this very quickly, and so resort to some form of distraction or numbing--something to keep our minds off of the anxiety, futility, and disappointment.
The modern era is marked by pain and paradox. Pain, because we cannot be what we think we are. Paradox because we are so woefully not what we think we are.
But disappointment can be good. Frustration can lead us to the truth. If we have ears to hear. If we allow our pain to speak to us, and lead us to the One who does not crowd out others or live by absorbing others, but who wills to share Himself so that others freely enjoy what He delights in from eternity.
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