Book 9: Charles Taylor ‘Sources of the Self: the making of Modern Identity’ a Six Month read into my first adventures into ’selves’

This book is the start of me formally attempting to reply to the Research Draft Proposal Draft with something pertaining to a sensible answer without of course having the elementary qualifications those in Academia are blessed to have Charles Taylor is part of two Philosophers I am reading that attempt to go beyond the ISMS and Ideologies as fundamental explanations. (As I stand I think both sides need listening too ). This is to discover the subtleties and nauced explanations and theories and range of explanations that give a deeper picture than just the ISM’s and Continental Philosophy which have influenced Literature and the Arts so much. These voices deserve to be heard and one must remain open. Just like Chritchley defends the right of Continental Philosophers to be heard alongside Analytic Philosophers. So I am defending my right to read both sides and see value in opposing sides. This book took me SIX MONTHS to read but by persevering even when I may have lost hold of the Books Plot. Taylor I discover does NOT like Marxism. But he employs a wide ranges of Philosophers to account for the Philosopher-leading accounts of PHILOSOPHERS and their respective theories and ideologies as accounting for the types of person in Society. This is I think very Philosopher Kings of Plato. Taylor does not think philosophical insights should come from the populace but rather the experts which must make him a Platonist. However in additon to this I have seen Taylor quoted as an Hegelian Nietzschean which means I have had to plough thorough ‘Beyond Good and Evil’ on Librivox (not finished yet) and look into Hegel. I have downloaded his History of Philosophy just to get a taste of a man I believe to espouse transcendental modes of philosophy. The extra work means audiobooks are coming into their own and more scans if you like are in order just to get a flavour or try too, of where he is coming from. So this is my take: I think he is an Orthodox Platonist (?) ( I am ignorant of Philosophy per se but read Philosphy books which means I am learning loads), who favours the Experts Philosopher Kings of the Academy as central connoters of identities on the ground. This is shown in the analysis of various Philosopher viewpoints: the Humean Self, The Punctual Self of Locke, the Homeric Self, The Self of Rational Reason (Plato highly influential). IN THEORY his rationale could be extended to any and every Philosopher under the sun-including Marx to generate a database of ’selves’. This could be a useful instrument to both Philosphers and preferably people at the bottom who end up niavely taking on these ’selves’.. An interesting well written clear book with a couple of niggle points which I believe has greater challenges in terms of inspiring agenda setting ideas in terms of the philosophy of the various selves around the world. 537 words