New York Times columnist David Brooks is one of the leading public intellectuals of our times. His book The Social Animal, a study of the unconscious mind and the triggers that drive human behaviour, was one of the most talked about publications of 2011. David Cameron instructed all the members of his Cabinet to read it.
In his latest book, The Road to Character, Brooks argues that today’s ‘Big Me’ culture is making us increasingly self-preoccupied: we live in a world where we’re taught to be assertive, to master skills, to broadcast our brand, to get likes, to get followers. But amidst all the noise of self-promotion, Brooks will claim that we’ve lost sight of an important and counterintuitive truth: that in order to fulfil ourselves we need to learn how to forget ourselves.