From Self to Selfie: A Critique of Contemporary Forms of Alienation

Description

This edited collection charts the rise and the fall of the self, from its emergence as an autonomous agent during the Enlightenment, to the modern-day selfie self, whose existence is realised only through continuous external validation. Tracing the trajectory of selfhood in its historical development - from the Reformation onwards - the authors introduce the classic liberal account of the self, based on ideas of freedom and autonomy, that dominated Enlightenment discourse. Subsequent chapters explore whether this traditional notion has been eclipsed by new, more rigid, categories of identity, that alienate the self from itself and its possibilities: what I am, it seems, has become more important than what I might make of myself. These changing dynamics of selfhood - the transition From Self to Selfie - reveal not only the peculiar ways in which selfhood is problematized in contemporary society, but equally the tragic fragility of the selfie, in the absence of any social authority that could give it some security. Front Matter ....Pages i-xvii Front Matter ....Pages 1-1 Introduction: Classical and Contemporary Forms of Alienation (James Panton)....Pages 3-12 The Emergence of the Self in History (Frank Furedi)....Pages 13-26 In Praise of Selfish Individualism (Jamie Whyte)....Pages 27-43 Self-Enlightenment (Angus Kennedy)....Pages 45-67 ‘Of Individuality, as One of the Elements of Wellbeing.’ J.S. Mill and the Nineteenth-Century Liberal Individual (James Panton)....Pages 69-84 The Rise and Fall of the Rule of Law (Jon Holbrook)....Pages 85-101 Front Matter ....Pages 103-103 Autonomy and the Birth of Authenticity (Tim Black)....Pages 105-128 Self, Society, Alienation: From Marx to Identity Politics (Josie Appleton)....Pages 129-146 Anti-humanism and the Deconstruction of the Liberal Subject (James Heartfield)....Pages 147-165 Narcissism and Identity (Claire Fox)....Pages 167-192 New Forms of Alienation (Frank Furedi)....Pages 193-206 Conclusion: The Self and Its Prospects (Angus Kennedy)....Pages 207-223 Back Matter ....Pages 225-228