One striking thing about the loss of moral horizons is the loss of imagination that's gone with them.
We (us deracinated Westerners) don't dream anymore. That goes along with the loss of myth and gods, I think.
I'm reminded of a story Philippa Foot once related about Iris Murdoch dropping out of philosophy to write novels. She (Murdoch) came to see that the stuffy rationalism of concepts wouldn't cut it insofar as getting to the heart of a meaningful, moral examination of what is good in life.
It's fascinated me how Taylor picks up these threads, nearly intact, from Murdoch. The bulk of SotS is a historical examination of various facets of the modern self. Yet that inquiry is very interested in the *art* of a people as much as (or more than?) their express philosophy, narrowly conceived (and to the extent that art and thought can be separated).
I suspect that any future retrievals of an 'enchanted world' will have much more to do with breathing new air into the culture and aesthetics. By 'aesthetics' I don't mean this in the Nietzschean sense of raw exertion of power--there is always a moral component to feeling and desire, and vice-versa.
To imagine new moral horizons is to first of all *imagine*, and a look around us shows how little most of us do that anymore.
Great post again Apex! I too believe in a recovery of meaning. A re-connection with community. But what Community is left in Modernity? Do I even want to Connect with it...
I cannot stop thinking about the Amish & Mennonites and German Brethren lately. They are not as worried about the future as us, because they still have a community that they care for and seek ongoing connections with.
I do not come from a Religious background, but maybe, maybe some communities still exist that are not en-wrapped in the debasement of Modernity...
Your post mirrors a lot of what I have been thinking lately and for that I thank you...
One striking thing about the loss of moral horizons is the loss of imagination that's gone with them.
We (us deracinated Westerners) don't dream anymore. That goes along with the loss of myth and gods, I think.
I'm reminded of a story Philippa Foot once related about Iris Murdoch dropping out of philosophy to write novels. She (Murdoch) came to see that the stuffy rationalism of concepts wouldn't cut it insofar as getting to the heart of a meaningful, moral examination of what is good in life.
It's fascinated me how Taylor picks up these threads, nearly intact, from Murdoch. The bulk of SotS is a historical examination of various facets of the modern self. Yet that inquiry is very interested in the *art* of a people as much as (or more than?) their express philosophy, narrowly conceived (and to the extent that art and thought can be separated).
I suspect that any future retrievals of an 'enchanted world' will have much more to do with breathing new air into the culture and aesthetics. By 'aesthetics' I don't mean this in the Nietzschean sense of raw exertion of power--there is always a moral component to feeling and desire, and vice-versa.
To imagine new moral horizons is to first of all *imagine*, and a look around us shows how little most of us do that anymore.
Great post again Apex! I too believe in a recovery of meaning. A re-connection with community. But what Community is left in Modernity? Do I even want to Connect with it...
I cannot stop thinking about the Amish & Mennonites and German Brethren lately. They are not as worried about the future as us, because they still have a community that they care for and seek ongoing connections with.
I do not come from a Religious background, but maybe, maybe some communities still exist that are not en-wrapped in the debasement of Modernity...
Your post mirrors a lot of what I have been thinking lately and for that I thank you...