Authenticity (SEP)
The term ‘authentic’ is used either in the strong sense of being “of undisputed origin or authorship”, or in a weaker sense of being “faithful to an original” or a “reliable, accurate representation”. To say that something is authentic is to say that it is what it professes to be, or what it is reputed to be, in origin or authorship. But the distinction between authentic and derivative is more complicated when discussing authenticity as a characteristic attributed to human beings. For in this case, the question arises: What is it to be oneself, at one with oneself, or truly representing one’s self? The multiplicity of puzzles that arise in conjunction with the conception of authenticity connects with metaphysical, epistemological, and moral issues (for recent discussion, see Newman and Smith 2016; Heldke and Thomsen 2014). On the one hand, being oneself is inescapable, since whenever one makes a choice or acts, it is oneself who is doing these things. But on the other hand, we are sometimes inclined to say that some of the thoughts, decisions and actions that we undertake are not really one’s own and are therefore not genuinely expressive of who one is. Here, the issue is no longer of metaphysical nature, but rather about moral-psychology, identity and responsibility.
When used in this latter sense, the characterization describes a person who acts in accordance with desires, motives, ideals or beliefs that are not only hers (as opposed to someone else’s), but that also express who she really is. Bernard Williams captures this when he specifies authenticity as “the idea that some things are in some sense really you, or express what you are, and others aren’t” (quoted in Guignon 2004: viii).
Besides being a topic in philosophical debates, authenticity is also a pervasive ideal that impacts social and political thinking. In fact, one distinctive feature of recent Western intellectual developments has been a shift to what is called the “age of authenticity” (Taylor 2007; Ferrarra 1998). Therefore, understanding the concept also involves investigating its historical and philosophical sources and on the way it impacts the socio-political outlook of contemporary societies.
Read the rest here: https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/authenticity/
Chatbot
Authenticity usually refers to the quality of being genuine rather than artificial, performed, or derivative. In philosophy and psychology, it has a more specific meaning: living in accordance with what one takes to be one’s own values, commitments, and understanding, rather than merely conforming to social expectations or external pressures.
In existentialist thought, especially in Heidegger and Sartre, authenticity concerns how one relates to one’s own existence. Heidegger contrasts authentic existence with falling into “the They” (das Man): the anonymous social norms and conventions that dictate how “one” thinks, acts, and speaks. To be authentic is not to reject society, but to recognize that one has been “thrown” into particular circumstances and still take ownership of one’s possibilities, especially in light of one’s mortality.
Sartre frames authenticity in terms of bad faith. Bad faith occurs when a person denies their freedom by pretending they are fixed by roles, biology, or social identity. Authenticity, by contrast, requires acknowledging both facticity (the conditions one did not choose) and freedom (the capacity to choose one’s stance toward those conditions).
In moral psychology, authenticity often means coherence between one’s actions and one’s endorsed values. However, this raises a problem: if our values are shaped by culture, upbringing, and language—as you have often noted in your own reflections—then what counts as “truly mine”? Some philosophers argue that authenticity does not require being the ultimate origin of one’s values. It requires critical appropriation: reflecting on the influences that shaped you and deciding which of them you endorse.
There is also a danger in romanticizing authenticity. The idea that one should “just be yourself” can become empty or self-indulgent. If the self is unstable, socially constructed, and historically contingent, then authenticity cannot mean expressing a pure inner core. It may instead mean lucidity about one’s conditioning and a willingness to take responsibility for one’s ongoing formation.
In short: authenticity is less about discovering a hidden true self and more about relating honestly to one’s situation, limits, and freedom.
Wikipedia
Authenticity is a concept of personality in the fields of psychology, existential psychotherapy, existentialist philosophy, and aesthetics. In existentialism, authenticity is the degree to which a person takes ownership of their choices and identity, acting in recognition of their freedom and responsibility, rather than deferring that responsibility to social roles, norms, or external authorities. The conscious self comes to terms with the condition of Geworfenheit, of having been thrown into an absurd world (without values and meaning) not of their own making, thereby encountering external forces and influences different from and other than the Self. Authenticity has emerged as a central concept in contemporary models of well-being and the good life, serving as a foundational principle in many leading psychological frameworks. A person’s lack of authenticity is considered bad faith in dealing with other people and with one’s self; thus, authenticity is in the instruction of the Oracle of Delphi: “Know thyself.” Concerning authenticity in art, the philosophers Jean Paul Sartre and Theodor Adorno held opposing views and opinions about jazz, a genre of American music; Sartre said that jazz is authentic and Adorno said that jazz is inauthentic. Many musical subcultures require artistic authenticity, lest the community consider an artist to be a poseur for lacking authenticity (creative, musical, or personal); artistic authenticity is integral to many genres of music, including but not limited to genres of rock (such as punk rock and heavy metal), club music (such as house and techno), and hip-hop.
In the 18th century, Romantic philosophers recommended intuition, emotion, and a connection to Nature as the necessary counterbalances to the intellectualism of the Age of Enlightenment. In the 20th century, Anglo–American preoccupations with authenticity centered on the writings of existentialist philosophers whose native tongue is not English; therefore, the faithful, true, and accurate translation of the term existentialism was much debated, to which end the philosopher Walter Kaufmann assembled a canon of existentialist philosophers. Kaufmann’s canon includes the Dane Søren Kierkegaard (1813–1855), the German Martin Heidegger (1889–1976), and the Frenchman Jean-Paul Sartre (1905–1980). For these existentialists, the conscious Self comes to terms with existence (being and living) in an absurd, materialist world featuring external forces, e.g. Geworfenheit (Thrown-ness), and intellectual influences different from and other than the Self.
Personal authenticity is exhibited in how a person acts and changes in response to the external world’s influences upon the Self. Among artists, authenticity in art describes a work of art faithful to the artist’s values. In the field of psychology, authenticity identifies a person living life in accordance with their true Self and personal values rather than according to the external demands of society, such as social conventions, kinship, and duty.
To identify, describe, and define authenticity, existential philosophers like Kierkegaard, Nietzsche, and Martin Heidegger investigated the existential and ontological significance of the social constructs that compose the norms of society. For a journalist, not blindly accepting social norms contributes to producing intellectually authentic reportage, achieved by the reporter choosing to be true to their professional ethics and personal values. Yet, in the praxis of journalism, the reporter’s authenticity (professional and personal) is continually contradicted by the business requirements of corporate publishing.
Nochrisis 