Charles Taylor

Canadian philosopher who is one of the leading figures in communitarianism and has produced major works on the modern self, secular societies, and the politics of recognition.

Sources of the Self: the modern identity is constituted by background frameworks of moral significance — the self is not a raw subject but a being for whom things matter. A Secular Age: how Western society moved from a world where belief in God was virtually inevitable to one where it is one option among many. The Politics of Recognition: recognition of cultural identity is a fundamental demand of modern politics. Critique of atomist liberalism: selves are constituted by their communities.