Self-Assertion, ‘Ignorant Backwoodsmen’ and the Experience of ‘(Un) Safe Spaces’

David Torevell

doi:10.1177/0021140020926594

Abstract

I want to suggest that contemporary notions of individuality and self-assertion have been, to some extent, significantly influenced by the thinking of the 18th-century Genevan political philosopher Jean-Jacques Rousseau. Although a committed Christian, Rousseau nursed an understanding of the inner self which clearly resonates with the rise in the 21st century of secularized accounts of the person and the prevalence of ‘identity politics.’ I argue these are frequently contextualized within the demand for equality and have morphed into strategies of protection, witnessed most glaringly in the promotion of ‘safe spaces,’ especially in modern universities. While in some respects these developments are to be lauded, since they are located in moral strivings for justice, I argue that a too obsessive focus on the individual self can result in harmful consequences. Biblical writers, Desert Christians and contemporary ascetics know this and have something important to teach in this regard. Their emphasis on the formation of identity, based on scriptural reasoning and historical tradition, imbibed in the body, promotes collective subjectivity and saves the person from descending into introverted, aggrieved individualism, which, ironically, makes the fight for social justice less effective.

Highlights

The modern cult of self-assertion and political correctness is a characteristic of ourmodern culture
A committed Christian, Rousseau nursed an understanding of the inner self which clearly resonates with the rise in the 21st century of secularized accounts of the person and the prevalence of ‘identity politics.’
What I have attempted to outline in this article is that while the contemporary cultural fashion for ‘identity politics’ and ‘safe spaces’ often reflects a deep moral intent, instances of individualized selfaffirmation and protective strategies of identity are not always helpful responses to injustice

Summary

Introduction

The modern cult of self-assertion and political correctness is a characteristic of our (post)modern culture. In Les Rêveries du Promeneur Solitaire (Reveries of the Solitary Walker), Rousseau confesses how he himself became the victim of other people’s evaluation.[30] In his Discourse on the Origins and the Foundations of Inequality Among Men, he denounces the shift from legitimate amour de soi (love of self) to amour-propre (self-love or vanity) which leads to feelings of pride and to the use of words like strong, weak, swift, slow, fearful, bold.[31] Modern ‘identity politics’ takes up Rousseau’s gauntlet in this regard and is to be admired; it builds on one key element of his sentiment de l’existence, an identity free from the unfair accretions of social convention, a characteristic which, it must be acknowledged, Christians long for.

Experiencing the Body Being Made Beautiful

Conclusion