The article aims to investigate the modern self-experience of an individual from the point of view of the historical conditions that make this experience possible. This undertaking will be supported by the turn to a theory and practice of self-examination as it appears in early Christianity. It is widely recognized that there is a connection between modernity and subjectivity. One of the areas where it is reflected is philosophy. By founding the paradigm of modern philosophy, Descartes finds in his turn to himself a certain basis of cognition and a space where forward progress in the process of building a new system of knowledge may take effect. For Descartes consciousness is, however, a means, not an end. This is one of the reasons why it is not "questioned" sufficiently. Among many questions that were not addressed at all for a long time, one should mention, how the experience on which Descartes bases his reasoning became possible. In the history preceding the Cartesian turn inward, we can identify many interesting moments - which can be found with great confirmation in early Christianity - that play a significant role in the constitution of the experience that will become so important for modernity.
JavaScript is turned off in your web browser. Turn it on to take full advantage of this site, then refresh the page.