Professor Carl Trueman | Hedonism and the Modern Psychological Self

In this Direct interview, John is joined by Professor Carl Trueman, author of The Rise and Triumph of the Modern Self. They discuss the modern self in an age of culture wars, including the societal shift of the perception of happiness and gratification, the technological revolution, and the sexual revolution and its ties to authoritarianism. Carl Trueman is a professor of biblical and religious studies at Grove City College in Grove City, Pennsylvania. He has written more than a dozen books, including Histories and Fallacies: Problems Faced in the Writing of History, Luther on the Christian Life, The Creedal Imperative, and The Rise and Triumph of the Modern Self: Cultural Amnesia, Expressive Individualism, and the Road to Sexual Revolution. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 00:00 Intro 00:16 Introducing Professor Carl Trueman 1:00 How does history give us a unique understanding of where we currently are as a society? 3:41 How do today's trends have similarities to the Reformation? 6:42 Abolition of the private sphere in the technological revolution 8:38 What is the modern self? 11:08 The morality of capitalism and the right to be happy 12:43 The old and new atheism 14:36 The danger of great ideas and fascism 16:35 What is anticulture? 25:00 Social Darwinism 26:18 Cultural Marxism and the sexual revolution 30:42 How is modern society Freudian? 33:29 Gratification and discipline in the modern age 35:42 Victimhood and the modern dissatisfaction phenomenon 37:16 The transgenderism movement and authoritarianism 41:21 The ideological affirmation model 47:00 Freedom of speech is under attack 52:50 Cancel culture led by the elites 54:20 What can we do as individuals amid a divided society? 58:50 How can Christianity shed light on our culture for a return to decent humanity? 1:03:30 Are things going well for progressives? -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Conversations feature John Anderson, former Deputy Prime Minister of Australia, interviewing the world's foremost thought leaders about today's pressing social, cultural and political issues. John believes proper, robust dialogue is necessary if we are to maintain our social strength and cohesion. As he puts it; "You cannot get good public policy out of a bad public debate." If you value this discussion and want to see more like it, make sure you subscribe to the channel here: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCtnYSEGViOnb7k8ezUaWUww?sub_confirmation=1 And stay right up to date with all the conversations by subscribing to the newsletter here: https://johnanderson.net.au/contact/ Follow John on Twitter: https://twitter.com/JohnAndersonAC Follow John on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/johnandersonac/ Support the channel: https://johnanderson.net.au/support/ Website: https://johnanderson.net.au/ Podcast: https://johnanderson.net.au/podcasts/