In this inquiry into the sources of modern selfhood, Charles Taylor shows that t
he modern turn inward is not disastrous but is in fact the result of our long ef
forts to define and reach the good. At the heart of this definition he finds wha
t he calls the affirmation of ordinary life, a value that has decisively if not
completely replaced an older conception of reason as connected to a hierarchy ba
sed on birth and wealth. In telling the story of a revolution whose proponents h
ave been Augustine, Montaigne, Luther, and a host of others, Taylor's goal is in
part to make sure we do not lose sight of their goal and endanger all that has
been achieved. Sources of the Self provides a decisive defense of the modern ord
er and a sharp rebuff to its critics.
