Between Hubris & Fear: The Crisis of the Modern Self Volume I

By Hermann Selchow

Between Hubris & Fear: The Crisis of the Modern Self

A stirring nonfiction book about the loss of our values in a torn world

Why does our society seem more disoriented than ever, despite progress, freedom, and prosperity? "Between Hubris & Fear: The Crisis of the Modern Self" relentlessly exposes how the modern self is torn apart between self-aggrandizement and deep insecurity – and in the process, central humanistic values such as decency, loyalty, responsibility, and morality are lost.

This book is a passionate plea for a return to what defines our humanity. It analyzes, with a clear perspective and philosophical depth, how egocentrism, moral arbitrariness, and collective fears are destabilizing our society. Instead of true freedom, we are experiencing an identity crisis – and with it the gradual disappearance of empathy, solidarity, and spirituality.

This book invites you to pause. To reflect. And perhaps even to take new paths. It combines philosophical depth with understandable language – and is aimed at all those who want to understand, not just observe.

What you can expect from this book:
– Decline in values & ethics in the modern age
– Hubris and self-promotion in social media
– Culture of fear and loss of identity
– The role of humanism in the 21st century
– Paths to a new moral orientation

For all those who sense that something crucial is being lost in our society – and who are looking for answers, guidance, and true depth. This book is a wake-up call – and offers hope.
For you. For us. For a better society.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Hermann Selchow
• Release date: Aug 18, 2025
• ISBN: 9798230037149

Hermann Selchow

Hermann Selchow wuchs in Schwerin, Mecklenburg-Vorpommern auf. Bereits in seiner Jugend unternahm er erste Gehversuche im Schreiben und veröffentlichte in einigen Magazinen. Er arbeitete am Staatstheater Schwerin. Danach machte er sich artfremd selbstständig. Seit 2021 befindet er sich im (Un)Ruhestand und ab dem Jahr 2023 publiziert er Werke zu aktuellen gesellschaftlichen und politischen Themen. Selchow lebt in der Nähe von Hamburg. ========================================== Hermann Selchow grew up in Schwerin, Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania. He began writing as a young adult and published his work in several magazines. He worked at the Schwerin State Theater. He then went freelance. He has been in (or not in) retirement since 2021, and since 2023 he has been publishing works on current social and political issues. Selchow lives near Hamburg.

Book preview

Between Hubris & Fear: The Crisis of the Modern Self

Volume I

The Individual Factors

Copyright © 2025 Hermann Selchow

All rights reserved

Between Hubris & Fear: The Crisis of the Modern Self

Volume I

The Individual Factors

Table of Contents

Introduction

The pillars of humanistic values: freedom, loyalty, dignity and reason

The pressure of individualism and the loss of communal values

The loss of traditional communities - compensation and self-expression

Dealing with youth and children - The delegated generation

Social changes and their impact on the individual

The conflict between inner abyss and soul-searching

The Performance Optimized: A Life Between Self-Aggrandizement and Self-Doubt

Conclusion: The return to ourselves

Also published in this series:

Introduction

Currently, the boundaries between the private and public self are increasingly blurring. Every moment of our lives is potentially documented and put on display. We are experiencing a fundamental transformation of what it means to be a modern self. We are in the midst of an epochal shift that is shaking not only our way of communicating but the very foundations of our identity formation. This book addresses one of the most pressing questions of our time: How do we navigate the shoals of a society that simultaneously drives us to constant self-presentation and confronts us with the fear of inadequacy?

The modern human condition reveals itself in a paradoxical field of tension between limitless possibilities for self-presentation and the agonizing experience of never being enough. We live in an era aptly characterized by the French philosopher Gilles Lipovetsky as the age of hypermodernity, a time in which the promises of modernity have not only been fulfilled but surpassed, giving rise to new forms of existential insecurity. This hypermodernity is characterized by an unprecedented individualization that frees the subject from traditional ties, yet simultaneously confronts it with the insoluble task of continually inventing and justifying itself.

The phenomenon we examine in this first volume is not merely a superficial problem of social media or consumer culture. Rather, it is a profound anthropological crisis rooted in the fundamental structures of modern subjectivity. The title, Between Hubris and Fear, refers to the tragic dynamic that drives the contemporary self: the incessant pressure between megalomaniacal overestimation and paralyzing self-doubt, between the belief in one's own exceptionality and the experience of one's own ordinariness, between the claim to authenticity and the need for optimization.

To understand the complexity of this crisis, we must first consider the historical and philosophical conditions that led to its emergence. The genealogy of the modern self does not begin with the internet or social media, but can be traced back to the beginnings of the modern era. René Descartes' famous Cogito ergo sum marks a turning point in the history of human self-understanding. This formula declares the thinking subject to be the foundation of all certainty, yet simultaneously isolates it from the world and from other people. The Cartesian self stands alone before itself, certain of its own existence, but deprived of the reality of everything else.

This epistemological shift had far-reaching consequences for the development of modern subjectivity. The self became not only a cognitive subject, but also a project of self-formation. The Enlightenment reinforced this tendency by elevating autonomous reason to the measure of all things and transferring responsibility for its own happiness and self-improvement to the individual. Immanuel Kant's imperative to use one's own reason may have been intended as an act of liberation, but it also led to an overburdening of the individual, who was now held responsible not only for his or her actions, but for his or her entire self.

Romanticism responded to this rationalization of the self with an emphasis on the uniqueness and authenticity of the individual. The Romantic ideal of self-realization promised that every person was an original, distinctive being, simply waiting to be discovered and developed. This notion of a true, authentic self that must be liberated from social conventions continues to shape our understanding of identity and self-development to this day. At the same time, however, it also laid the foundation for a new form of self-alienation: If every person possesses a unique self that must be realized, what happens to those who cannot find or realize this self?

The Industrial Revolution and the emergence of mass society significantly exacerbated this problem. In a world of standardized production and anonymous cities, the longing for individuality became a central cultural motif. Paradoxically, however, the very desire to stand out from the crowd led to new forms of conformity. The culture industry, as Theodor W. Adorno and Max Horkheimer called it, began to systematically market promises of individualization, transforming the longing for authenticity into a commodity.

Georg Simmel recognized the tragic dimension of this development as early as the beginning of the 20th century. In his analyses of modern urban life, he described how the individual, on the one hand, strives for distinction and singularity, but on the other hand, is overwhelmed by the abundance of stimuli and possibilities. According to Simmel, the big city creates a specific form of blasé attitude, a numbness to differences that paradoxically results from the excess of stimulation. This blasé attitude is a protective function of the psyche, but at the same time also a loss of vitality and spontaneity.

The psychoanalytic revolution, initiated by Sigmund Freud, introduced another dimension to the understanding of the modern self. Freud's discovery of the unconscious showed that the ego is by no means master in its own house, but is determined by drives, repressions, and unconscious conflicts. The Cartesian ideal of self-transparency was thus fundamentally shaken. At the same time, however, psychoanalysis also opened up new possibilities for self-knowledge and self-transformation. The idea that one can better understand and change oneself through analysis and reflection became a central element of modern self-culture.

Jacques Lacan radicalized these insights by showing that the self itself is an illusion, a construct created through identification with images and symbols. The mirror stage, in which the child first develops a coherent image of itself, is, for Lacan, the beginning of a fundamental self-alienation. The self is something else from the outset, a projection that never coincides with the actual subject of experience. This structural split of the subject explains why all attempts at self-discovery and authenticity must ultimately fail.

Existentialist philosophy, particularly in the form of Jean-Paul Sartre, further exacerbated the problem. Sartre's famous formula, Existence precedes essence, means that humans first exist and only then create themselves through their actions and decisions. This radical freedom, however, is simultaneously a radical responsibility, which can lead to anxiety and despair. Humans are, as Sartre puts it, condemned to freedom and must bear the burden of constant self-creation.

Simone de Beauvoir expanded this analysis to include the dimension of gender, demonstrating how societies shape and limit this seemingly free self-creation. Her famous phrase, One is not born a woman, one is made one, makes it clear that even the most fundamental aspects of identity are socially constructed. This insight has far-reaching consequences for understanding the modern identity crisis: If even gender identity is constructed, what remains as the authentic core of the self?

The post-war period, with the economic miracle and consumer society, gave rise to new forms of identity formation. Sociology in the 1950s and 1960s described the emergence of the other-led person, as David Riesman called them, who no longer draws their identity from traditional values or inner convictions, but rather from orientation toward the reactions of their social environment. This new character type is highly sensitive to social cues and constantly adapts to the expectations of others.

The 1960s brought with them a counterculture that seemed to rebel against this conformity. The hippie movement, the student revolt, and various forms of cultural awakening seemed to promise the possibility of authentic self-development beyond social constraints. Don't trust anyone over 30 and Destroy what destroys you were the slogans of a generation that believed it could free the authentic self from the shackles of bourgeois society.

But as sociologist Christopher Lasch demonstrated in his seminal work The Age of Narcissism, this very apparent liberation led to new forms of self-obsession and narcissistic disorders. The culture of self-actualization, which began in the 1960s and became institutionalized in the following decades, paradoxically produced a generation of people who, despite all the emphasis on authenticity and self-development, were internally empty and disoriented.

The neoliberal turn of the 1980s significantly intensified these tendencies. The free market was propagated not only as an economic principle but as a philosophy of life. Each person was declared an entrepreneur of their own self, responsible for their own success or failure. Neoliberal subjectivity, as analyzed by theorists such as Ulrich Bröckling and Byung-Chul Han, transforms every aspect.

Digitalization and the emergence of the internet dramatically accelerated these processes. Even in the early stages of online communication, it became clear that the internet opened up new possibilities for identity exploration and self-expression. Users could try out different personalities, reinvent themselves, and explore aspects of their identity that would have been suppressed or impossible in the physical world.

Sherry Turkle documented in her studies how people developed experimental identities in virtual worlds and online communities. The internet initially appeared to be the ultimate realization of postmodern identity theories: a space in which the self could be freely constructed and reconstructed, freed from the constraints of physical reality and social conventions.

But with the commercialization of the internet and the emergence of social media, this dynamic changed fundamentally. Platforms such as Facebook, Instagram, and later TikTok transformed experimental identity work into a permanent performance in front of an imaginary audience. The internet evolved from a site of liberation to a site of constant surveillance and evaluation.

The architecture of social media, with its likes, shares, and comments, implements a continuous feedback loop that subtly but effectively controls user behavior. Every post becomes a small experiment in self-presentation, whose success or failure is immediately measurable. This permanent metric of social recognition transforms identity work into a kind of stock market game in which the value of the self is determined by algorithms and audience reactions.

Byung-Chul Han has described this development as the emergence of the transparency society, in which everything becomes visible, measurable, and comparable. The intimacy of the self dissolves in constant exposure, and what appears to be authenticity reveals itself upon closer inspection as strategic staging. The supposed democratization of the media, which gives everyone the opportunity to be both producer and star, paradoxically leads to a new form of conformity.

Social media algorithms reinforce this tendency by favoring content that achieves high engagement rates. What goes viral becomes the benchmark for relevance and success. Users consciously or unconsciously adapt their self-presentation to these algorithmic preferences and optimize their personality for maximum visibility and resonance.

This development has particularly dramatic effects on young people who are growing up in a world in which digital self-presentation appears not optional but existentially necessary. Studies show a dramatic increase in anxiety disorders, depression, and narcissistic personality disorders among adolescents and young adults, which correlates with the spread of social media.

In her research, Jean Twenge has shown how the smartphone generation suffers from specific psychological stress directly related to constant networking and the pressure to present themselves. The fear of missing out (FOMO) is only one aspect of a broader syndrome of permanent dissatisfaction and comparison addiction.

But these phenomena are not just individual problems, but symptoms of a deeper cultural crisis. The neoliberal ideology of self-entrepreneurship merges with the technical possibilities of digital self-presentation to create a toxic mixture of permanent performance optimization and social competition. Everyone becomes the manager of their own brand, the curator of their own identity, the permanent performer of themselves.

Psychoanalyst Sherry Turkle warns of the consequences of this development for the human capacity for empathy and intimacy. When all relationships are filtered through the logic of social media, when every interaction is potentially public and documented, the space for spontaneous, uncalculated encounters disappears. The art of boredom, solitude, and quiet reflection is lost.

At the same time, a new form of social control is emerging, one that functions not through authoritarian institutions but through seemingly voluntary participation in the mechanisms of self-optimization and constant evaluation. Gilles Deleuze had already predicted the emergence of the control society in the 1990s, in which discipline is no longer achieved through external constraints but through the internalization of control mechanisms.

Social media is the perfect implementation of this control society. It creates the impression of complete freedom and self-determination while simultaneously controlling users' behavior through subtle reward and punishment mechanisms. The illusion of choice conceals the fact that the available options are already pre-structured.

The French philosopher Bernard Stiegler has analyzed the destructive effects of this development on the human psyche. In his view, the constant stimulation provided by digital media leads to an atrophy of the ability to pay attention and concentrate. The ability for deep reflection and the development of lasting bonds is systematically undermined.

In this context, the phenomenon of self-optimization takes on particular significance. What appears to be an individual strategy for improving the quality of life turns out, upon closer inspection, to be a symptom of a comprehensive economization of the self. Fitness trackers, meditation apps, productivity tools, and self-help literature promise the optimization of all areas of life, from physical health and emotional stability to professional performance.

This development has particularly problematic effects on the culture of love and relationships. Dating apps reduce the complex dynamics of interpersonal attraction to algorithmic matching processes. The logic of the market intrudes into the most intimate areas of human life, transforming the search for love into an optimization exercise.

Tinder, Bumble, and other dating platforms implement the mechanisms of social media in matchmaking. The swipe principle reduces the first encounter with a potential partner to a binary decision based on a superficial visual impression. The complexity of human attraction, the subtle aspects of chemistry and compatibility that require time and shared experiences, are reduced to a snapshot in time.

At the same time, these platforms create the illusion of infinite choices. Every potential partner is evaluated against the backdrop of all the other possible partners who are just a swipe away. This paradox of choice, as psychologist Barry Schwartz has called it, leads to permanent dissatisfaction and an inability to commit. The fear of not having made the optimal