Tara Isabella Burton on the Creation and Curation of the Modern Self

Many modern movements and philosophies have invited humans to look for answers to fundamental human questions not outside of themselves—as many traditional religions and classical philosophical schools did—but inside of themselves. This is an impulse to seek contentment through self-realization, to judge a person’s inner attitudes by their authenticity. That means that personal thoughts and feelings now govern behavior more than external standards or external channels of ambition. Modern people do not want the self to melt away into something greater, or holier; modern people are self-made.