Introduction

Since its publication in 1989, Charles Taylor's Sources of the Self has commanded much attention and generated considerable controversy. It has attracted lavish praise and fierce criticism – sometimes from the same commentator! Yet when one considers its scope and ambition, it is not surprising that Sources of the Self should have elicited, and should continue to elicit, such a range of reactions. This chapter provides an overview of the book by outlining what Taylor was attempting to do in Sources of the Self; what conception of the self it adduces; what the sources of the modern self are and how these are supposed to “source” the self.

The book's aims

In the Preface to Sources of the Self, Taylor suggests that his ambition in writing the book is a genealogical one: he hopes to “articulate and write a history of the modern identity” (Sources: ix). Shortly afterwards he declares that “This book attempts to define the modern identity in describing its genesis” (Sources: x). Looking back on his work several years after its publication, Taylor reiterated and elaborated on this characterization: