Analysis Of The Malaise Of Modernity

Are you perfectly at peace with the way democracies function in modern society? If you were quick to answer yes, reading The Malaise of Modernity, by Charles Taylor, and Democracy on Trial, by Jean Bethke Elshtain, would likely make you give your answer more thought. Both Taylor and Elshtain are political philosophers who gave speeches at the CBC Massey Lectures in 1991 and 1993 correspondingly. The Massey Lectures are an annual five-part series of lectures on a political, cultural or philosophical topic given in Canada by a well-known scholar. Their lectures were then transcribed into the books this report will examine. Charles Taylor is a noted Canadian philosopher whose goal is to “bridge the gap between philosophical theories and political

He believes that modernity has brought malaise, which is a feeling of discomfort or unease. This word is very particular and immediately illustrates Taylor’s opinion of the concept: that “malaise is a sickness that has happened in modernity.” Overall, Taylor believes that there are three causes of this malaise: individualism leading to loss of meaning, instrumental reason resulting in the reduction of “ends” that guide an individual’s life, and the loss of freedom. Due to the fact that the information was initially presented in lectures, it meant that Taylor had limited time and thus he stated that he would only have time to address the first of these three malaises in

Taylor sees authenticity as being true to oneself: “Being true to myself means being true to my own originality, and that is something only I can articulate and discover.” People who live in the culture of authenticity try to structure their lives in accordance with this ideal. In attempting to address whether or not “one can say anything in reason to people who are immersed in the contemporary culture of authenticity,” Taylor defines the concept of reasoning and critiques modern relativism as well as egoism. He claims that with a greater understanding of authenticity, it can be seen “that human beings do not define themselves in isolation… [but] they define themselves in the continuing dialogue they have with each other.” This shows that meaning then depends on communal relations. Therefore, independent self-realization and self-fulfillment become impossible. All of this goes to show that the culture of authenticity does not encourage self-fulfillment or self-realization. Taylor ultimately suggests that the ideal of authenticity is a good thing. In fact, he even goes so far as to suggest it may be the remedy for the malaise he outlines. However, it can only be good if it is properly understood. If the ideal is not successful, it will only lead to