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On Being Authentic

  • Book
  • 2004
  • #Philosophy
Charles Guignon
@CharlesGuignon
(Author)
www.amazon.com
Edition
4.2/5 24 ratings
Edition Kindle
See on Goodreads
3.73/5 140 ratings
1 Recommender
2 Mentions
2 Collections
'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 p... Show More

'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.

(From Goodreads)

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Number of Pages: 208

ISBN: 0415261236

ISBN-13: 9780415261234

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Erik Torenberg @ErikTorenberg · Jan 1, 2021
  • Curated in Most interesting books that changed my mind in 2020
This idea of authenticity was novel When Socrates said "Know thyself", he didn't mean it like we mean it today, where you should get in touch with your true self and self-actualize. “Know thyself" really meant "know thy place"
Erik Torenberg @ErikTorenberg · Jan 1, 2021
  • Curated in Some of the most interesting books that changed my mind in 2020
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  • Erik Torenberg
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    Most interesting books that changed my mind in 2020
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  • Erik Torenberg
    • Collection
    Some of the most interesting books that changed my mind in 2020
    22 curations
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