Philosophy
fromThe Nation
3 weeks agoThe Invention of the Modern Self
Individuality arises through shared language, making claims of a wholly private, authentic self historically unstable and often expressed in conventional, collective terms.
The title of Brandi Carlile's latest record, , makes an encouraging first impression. What could possibly be bad about reclaiming selfhood? Isn't that a pop psychology milestone people make guest appearances on daytime talk shows to humble brag about? But Returning to Myself considers the implicit woe of its own declaration: in order to return to oneself, one must first be lost. It's a common existential crisis that worsens when pop culture primes audiences for inspiration instead of reality checks.