Today’s youth Nurture “authenticity“But is it a virtue? According to a report by Ernst & Young, more than 9 out of 10 Z respondents indicated that being authentic and true to oneself is very or very important. In fact, most of them claimed that authenticity is more important than any other personal value.
This discovery isn’t all that surprising: We all live in an age where we’re bombarded by social media and artificial intelligence—while trying to be your authentic self. increasingly difficult tasks.
Yet, even if it somehow becomes a common goal, it’s unclear how many of us can truly define “authenticity” as we call it. I think it’s also worth asking whether sincerity and authenticity are perennial human virtues or just obsessions of this technological age.
As a Scholar in political thought and the history of American political developmentI think two philosophers can help us understand this problem and how to deal with it: Jean-Jacques Rousseau And Martin Heidegger.
Sincerity: The Counter to Modernity
Rousseau, an 18th-century philosopher from Geneva, came in the wake of earlier Enlightenment philosophers, e.g. Hobbs, lock And Montesquieu.
These thinkers laid much of the foundation for how people understand liberal democracy today, especially the emphasis on individual natural rights—to paraphrase Thomas Jefferson’s later formulation, “All men.”These rights are endowed by birth or nature. In particular, Hobbes popularized the idea of creating a commonwealth as an escape from uncertainty in a state of nature where self-preservation is fundamental. Locke also emphasized property rights, while Montesquieu saw the importance of international trade among other aspects, including the separation of powers.
But Rousseau became famous for his critique of the individualistic civil society born of their thought. In modern commercial republics, fixation became a luxury rather than a duty. “Ancient politicians talked endlessly about morality and virtue,” He wrote; “In our time those who talk only of business and money.”
For Rousseau, modern society was a conformist “herd” in which everyone hides.veil of politeness”. People wear masks to hide their interests, deceiving others to serve their own desires.
Thus, he argued, people are actually slaves to each other: while each individual pursues self-interest, success requires others to see something.”profit“To help each other. The rich need the “service” of the poor just as the poor need the “help” of the rich. Anyone who refuses to surrender to this whole enterprise”Will die in poverty and oblivion“
Sincerity is the path to self-realization According to Rousseau’s political philosophy Professor of Political Science Arthur Meltzer. As Meltzer says“We want, as fully as possible, to become what we are, to realize ourselves, to be as alive and real as possible, to truly live.” For him, Rousseau considered sincerity to lead the “way” to true human excellence. it”Countercultural virtue“There was a need to oppose the hypocrisy found in modern society.
Authenticity: Uncovering yourself
While Rousseau praised sincerity, the 20th-century German philosopher Martin Heidegger significantly influenced today’s understanding of a related concept: authenticity.
In this great work,Being and time,” Heidegger considered how the soul is lost in the public world. In everyday life, individuals think and exist in terms of the other people they encounter—a way he called “the-self.” He said, “Everyone is other, and no one is oneself.”
Heidegger believed that when people are inauthentic they are “Unhindered rush“In the world, to calm oneself from anxiety about the real meaning of human life and its ultimate end.
In his later works, Heidegger argued that everything and everyone in contemporary life had become technological, considered as “Raw material for exploitation” For example, in the technological age, the Rhine is not a “river” but merely “something at our command”, a provider of “water power”.
“Everywhere everything is ordered to stand by, to be immediately at hand,” he claimed“To actually stand there so it can call for more orders.” This even extends to people, now called “human resources”.
In contrast, authentic people are said to choose and be themselves rather than others. They do not flee from death, and thus discover the world as if drifting away.”Concealment and obscurity“
Yet, Heidegger does not explicitly say that truth is human excellence or the “highest good”. as Mark Blitz, professor of political philosophy Clearly, Heidegger’s truth is “A correct understanding of what people really are” From this perspective, authentic people are able to face and realize their responsibility for their own existence.
bound by justice
Despite the current obsession with sincerity and authenticity, I believe it is important to put these concepts in perspective: they can be added to the list of classical virtues, including courage, temperance, justice, and prudence, rather than replacing them entirely.
There may not be anything intrinsically dangerous about pursuing authenticity. In many cases, it is clear that people should leave what they want to be. But there are still some obvious limits.
At the very least, truth must be bound by justice. What if someone harms the environment or others by being their “authentic self”? Some people are “sincere” or “authentic” when doing all kinds of harmful things.
While we can all pursue authenticity, we should also remember that just and peaceful relationships require the celebration of both differences and mutual respect.
Kenneth Andrew Andres LeonardoPostdoctoral Fellow and Visiting Assistant Professor, Govt. Hamilton College
Reprinted from this article the conversation Under Creative Commons license. read on Main article.
