On Being Authentic'To thine own self be true.' From Polonius's words in Hamlet right up to Oprah, we are constantly urged to look within. Why is being authentic the ultimate aim in life for so many people, and why does it mean looking inside rather than out? Is it about finding the 'real' me, or something greater than me, even God? And should we welcome what we find? Thought-provoking and with an astonishing range of references, On Being Authentic is a gripping journey into the self that begins with Socrates and Augustine. Charles Guignon asks why being authentic ceased to mean being part of some bigger, cosmic picture and with Rousseau, Wordsworth and the Romantic movement, took the strong inward turn alive in today's self-help culture. He also plumbs the darker depths of authenticity, with the help of Freud, Joseph Conrad and Alice Miller and reflects on the future of being authentic in a postmodern, global age. He argues ultimately that if we are to rescue the ideal of being authentic, we have to see ourselves as fundamentally social creatures, embedded in relationships and communities, and that being authentic is not about what is owed to me but how I depend on others. |
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LibraryThing Review
User Review - giovannigf - LibraryThingI'm not opposed to an intelligent argument against the concept of authenticity, but Guignon stacks the deck so blatantly that he ends up undermining himself. Right off the bat he defines authenticity ... Read full review
LibraryThing Review
User Review - giovannigf - LibraryThingI'm not opposed to an intelligent argument against the concept of authenticity, but Guignon stacks the deck so blatantly that he ends up undermining himself. Right off the bat, he defines authenticity ... Read full review
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ability according achieve actions activity answer appears become begins beliefs called century Chapter child civilization claim comes commitments conception conception of authenticity concern condition context continuity course created culture Darkness defining desires distinction existence experience express fact Faustus feelings followed forces freedom given going happiness Heart human idea ideal of authenticity identity imagination important individual inner involves lead living look matter meaning mind nature Notes notion objective one's opposition original ourselves outlook person philosopher picture play possible postmodern practice premodern present Press provides question reality realize reason reflection regarded relations responsibility role Rousseau says seems seen sense social society sort soul spiritual stand story suggests things thinking thought touch tradition trans true truth turn ultimate understanding University virtue whole writes York
Bibliographic information
| Title | On Being Authentic Thinking in action |
| Author | Charles B. Guignon |
| Edition | reprint |
| Publisher | Psychology Press, 2004 |
| ISBN | 0415261228, 9780415261227 |
| Length | 185 pages |
| Subjects | › Philosophy / General |
| Export Citation | BiBTeX EndNote RefMan |