Jamie Wheal With Dr Tara Isabella Burton - Meaning-Making

Is Self-Actualization Narcissistic?

Our society is facing a crisis of meaning. That is the foundational message of our latest episode with Dr. Tara Isabella Burton. 

You may have heard of the term “nones”- people listing no religious affiliation in surveys. Dr. Burton, theologian, author and journalist, is less interested in what this group of people are leaving behind (institutional religion) than in how they are finding or making their own meaning.

But what happens when we seek stabilizing, emotionally satisfying stories that give us a cosmic location and identity without accountability to a higher purpose? Could it be that if we’re seeking self-actualization and the only arbiter is our own thoughts, feelings, and desires that the result is lack of meaning and inadvertently the development of narcissistic traits? It’s a powerful question. We discuss:

• Why society is in a crisis of meaning
• Could the pursuit of self-actualization result in narcissistic tendencies
• The dark side of structuring a religion of one
• Do we have a God-shaped hole in our hearts?
• The case that Harry Potter is more than a book, it’s an entire theology 

There’s a quiet despair at the end of the gospel of self-actualization. - Tara Isabella Burton Ph.D.

It’s a fast-paced conversation that encourages deep, self reflection of both spirituality and meaning-making. Listen in now. 

Related Links

Tara’s Website
Strange Rites: New Religions for a Godless World