Authenticity and self-deception (Charles Taylor, Ethics of Authenticity/Rousseau, Reveries of the Solitary Walker) Flashcards
What is the ideal of authenticity?
Individualism. The “natural man” is driven by the basic love of self, feeling a calling to self-fulfillment. Human beings each have a moral sense of what is right/wrong: inner voice. Being true to oneself.
Why does civilization prevent humans from being authentic?
Civilization installs reason into our minds. It questions that if something is supposed to be natural, why do we not do it. Thus, civilization has prevented humans from being authentic as it created things that discourage us from acting on our natural instincts.
Ex. Marketing makes a profit by hurting others when it is our authentic nature to be nurturing beings.
What is the solution to the “feeling of existence”?
To enjoy the feeling of just letting one be. The solution would be to obtain peace by living in the inner world of his soul. In doing this one can find happiness in the awareness of existence.
What is Herder’s principle of originality?
Each of us has an original way of being human. To live my life and not imitate anyone else.
