The Shadow-gloom and Weight of the Sacred

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Taylor begins the second chapter of Sources of the Self, titled "The Self in Moral Space," with a continuing discussion of frameworks, but at a much greater depth. Indeed, this has been the most difficult section of text to digest to this point. Hence, my much longer-than-intended pause from posting on this subject. As previously noted and, because I keep forgetting them, constantly reiterated, Taylor identifies three dimensions to human moral life: (1) the sense that human life is to be respected, (2) our understanding of what makes a full life (3) the range of notions concerned with dignity. Taylor defines a framework as a matrix incorporating qualitative distinctions by which one may determine the good life, or perhaps higher modes of life. Initially, frameworks are discussed in relation to the issue of the meaning of life, but in the present section, their role in the dimension of moral assessment is explored.

An absence of a framework, or a poorly developed framework, is what leads to identity crises. The question of identity is "Who am I?" Taylor states

"To know who I am is a species of knowing where I stand. My identity is defined by the commitments and identifications which provide the frame or horizon within which I can try to determine from case to case what is good, or valuable, or what ought to be done, or what I endorse or oppose. In other words, it is the horizon within which I am capable of taking a stand" (27).

Possible manners in which we might identify ourselves include religion (e.g., Catholic, Muslim), nationality (e.g., British, Chinese) and so on. By claiming such a background, a person is not simply stating that they are strongly attached to such a way of life, but also they are identifying the frame within which they determine where they stand on questions of what is good, worthwhile, admirable, or of value. "Put counterfactually, they are saying that were they to lose this commitment or identification...they wouldn't know anymore, for any important range of questions, what the significance of things was for them" (27). This situation results in an identity crises, a form of disorientation, which a person expresses in terms of not know who they are. This can also be seen as a radical uncertainty of where they stand. The importance of a framework to a person's (moral) life is thus made obvious in this example. Without a frame or horizon, the meaning of the possibilities (i.e., the good vs. the bad, meaningful vs. the meaningless or trivial, etc.) is unfixed or undetermined, which creates a frightening and/or painful experience.

To know who you are is to be oriented in moral space.