Brett McKay here and welcome to another edition of the Art of Manliness podcast.

When you scroll through social media feeds today, you'll find countless posts about living your truth and being authentic.

These ideas feel so natural to us now that we rarely stopped to ask where they came from

or what they really mean.

The concept of identity, how we understand ourselves, has undergone a radical transformation

over the centuries.

What once was defined primarily by external markers like family, profession, and community

has shifted dramatically toward inner feelings, desires, and psychological experiences.

To end the show, Carl Truman impacts this profound change and how we got to the lens

through which we view ourselves today. Carl is a professor, theologian, and the author of

The Rise and Triumph of the Modern Self. Throughout our conversation, he explores the

insights of three key thinkers, Charles Taylor, Philip Reef, and Alastair

who have mapped the historical and cultural shifts that have transformed our ideas of identity.

We discuss how this transformation has reshaped politics, education, and religion,

while considering whether we've lost something essential and moving from a shared understanding of human nature

to an increasingly individualized conception of self.

After the show's over, check out of our show notes at AOM.

AtiS.m.com.

It's great to the show.

It's great to be here. Thanks to having me on, Brett.

So you wrote a book called The Rise and Triumph of the Modern Self,

and you explore how our concept of the self has changed in modernity,

...