Understanding and Critiquing the Modern Ideas of Self and Identity

Questions of identity, debated since the origins of Western philosophy, have been sharpened recently by an unprecedented growth in the number of possibilities for self-presentation offered by modern technology and social media. This capacity for almost limitless re-invention of the self, heightened by the influence of post-modern thought and queer theory, has potentially profound and far-reaching implications for mental health, social cohesion, and personal autonomy. The Christian worldview, which presents identity as both a given and an evolving narrative of self, offers an opportunity for Christian apologists to engage with one of the major issues of our age.