در جست‌وجوی اصالت

by Charles B. Guignon, آرش محمداولی (Translator)

با آن که خداوند همه جا حاضر است ، او نزد شما تنها در ژرف‌ترین و مرکزی‌ترین جزء نفستان حاضر است . حس‌های طبیعی نمی‌توانند خداوند را تصاحب کنند یا شما را به او پیوند بدهند . وحتی قوای درونی فهم ، اراده و حافظة شما تنها می‌توانند به دنبال خداوند باشند . شما ریشه یا ژرفایی دارید که تمام این قوا از آنجا بیرون می‌آیند ، مثل خطوطی که از مرکزی یا شاخه‌هایی که از تنة درختی بیرون می‌آیند . این عمق را مرکز ، سرمایه و بنیاد روح می‌نامند . این عمق وحدت و ابدیت و به تعبیری دیگر ، بی‌کرانی روح شماست . زیرا به قدری بی‌کران است که چیزی جز بی‌کرانی خداوند نمی‌تواند او را خشنود کند . با نظر به چنین تصویری از خداوند درون ، طرح چرخشی به درون برای یافتن هدایت و حقیقت غایی بدیهی به نظر می‌رسد . « چارلز تیلور » به تفصیل نشان داده است که چطور ایده‌های دینی نقشی محوری در درک ما از « خود » یافته‌اند ، درکی که ما اکنون در جهان مدرن آن را با دیگران شریکیم . کتاب « در جستجوی اصالت » به ردیابی بسط تاریخی مفهوم اصالت از خاستگاه‌هایش در قرن هجدهم تا کاربردهای مسئله‌دار امروزین آن می‌پردازد .

کتاب «در جستجوي اصالت» نوشته‌ی «چارلز گيان» و ترجمه‌ی «آرش محمداولی» است. در توضیحات پشت جلد کتاب آمده است: ««با خویشتن خویش صادق باش. خیلی‌ها، از پلونیوس در هملت تا اپرا وینفری، پیوسته تشویقمان می‌کنند که به درون خود نظر کنیم. چرا اصالت هدف غایی زندگی بسیاری از افراد است؟ چرا اصالت یعنی نظر کردن به دنیای درون، نه سیر در جهان؟ آیا اصالت یعنی یافتن من "حقیقی" خویش یا یافتن امری عظیم‌تر همچون خدا؟ نویسنده در این کتاب به تامل در این باب می‌پردازد که چرا و چگونه معنای اصالت تغییر کرده است؛ چرا اصالت زمانی به این معنی بود که جزئی از تصویر کیهانی بزرگ‌تری باشیم، و زمانی دیگر به معنای تامل و تعمق در جهان درونی خود. او در این کتاب خاستگاه‌های این مفهوم را در تاریخ اندیشه بررسی و نقد می‌کند.» ناشر درباره‌ی کتاب آورده است: «آن‌که خداوند همه‌جا حاضر است، او نزد شما تنها در ژرف‌ترین و مرکزی‌ترین جزء نفستان حاضر است. حس‌های طبیعی نمی‌توانند خداوند را تصاحب کنند یا شما را به او پیوند بدهند و حتی قوای درونی فهم، اراده و حافظة شما تنها می‌توانند به دنبال خداوند باشند. شما ریشه یا ژرفایی دارید که تمام این قوا از آنجا بیرون می‌آیند، مثل خطوطی که از مرکزی یا شاخه‌هایی که از تنة درختی بیرون می‌آیند. این عمق را مرکز، سرمایه و بنیاد روح می‌نامند. این عمق وحدت و ابدیت و به تعبیری دیگر، بی‌کرانی روح شماست. زیرا به قدری بی‌کران است که چیزی جز بی‌کرانی خداوند نمی‌تواند او را خشنود کند. با نظر به چنین تصویری از خداوند درون، طرح چرخشی به درون برای یافتن هدایت و حقیقت غایی بدیهی به نظر می‌رسد. "چارلز تیلور" به تفصیل نشان داده است که چطور ایده‌های دینی نقشی محوری در درک ما از "خود" یافته‌اند، درکی که ما اکنون در جهان مدرن آن را با دیگران شریکیم. کتاب "در جستجوی اصالت" به ردیابی بسط تاریخی مفهوم اصالت ازخاستگاه‌هایش در قرن هجدهم تا کاربردهای مسئله‌دار امروزین آن می‌پردازد.» این کتاب را انتشارات «ققنوس» منتشر کرده است.

Genres: Philosophy, Nonfiction, Theory

216 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2004

Reviews

[Yasaman Safari · Rating 3 out of 5]

خیلی خوندنش رو توصیه نمی کنم..........زیاده گویی توش فراوانه

[Greg McKinzie · Rating 3 out of 5]

The book’s progression is helpful. The story of authenticity’s evolution clarifies what is at stake in the term's use and in the author’s reappropriation of it.

Guignon seeks to:

1. Explain what disconcerts him about self-help culture (a la Dr. Phil) and why it gets authenticity wrong—redeeming the term from popular misuse.

2. Spring board from Trilling's paradigm of authenticity vs. sincerity to deny the inner/outer dichotomy by virtue of constructionist and narrativist proposals that construe the self dialogically and assume subjective agency or responsibility. A reintegration of the inner self and the outer self reveals concern about the “self” to be a remnant of modernist hubris and romanticist narcissism.

3. Relocate authenticity in relation to social virtues that require concern for external norms. He does this by (a) highlighting the negative potential of the inner self and (b) conflating sincerity with authenticity (see 2. above). He argues the latter by suggesting that authenticity is both a personal virtue and a social virtue. The key result is a re-externalization of the "true and good" that authenticity sought in the first place.

4. Advocate late modern democracy as the external narrative that gives dignity to the concept of authenticity, thereby articulating one specific sociocentric vision of authenticity. (He defines other views of authenticity as theocentric, cosmocentric, and anthropocentric, but he fails to classify his own proposal. I think _sociocentric_ is a fair genus label for it, though the particular species of society he makes normative is _late modern liberal democracy_.)

Guignon's most important constructive moves seem to be the least elucidated aspects of the book. Despite dealing thoroughly with the importance of the self in most conceptions of authenticity, his is interest is not finally an accounting of the authentic self but a displacement of the self in an account of authenticity. This could be stated far more clearly and developed more programatically. The final chapter seems rushed and incomplete as a constructive proposal that pivots from the historical survey.

The author clearly appreciates and makes use of narrativist philosophy but fails to do justice to the fundamental difference between (a) narrating a responsible, coherent story and (b) getting in touch with the inner self. For example, he sees Sartre's gambling addict who wholeheartedly takes responsibility to stop gambling but relapses as proof that we don’t successfully choose a different story. Yet, this critique of narrativism fails to ask whether the addict has the ability tell an an authentic story about himself ("I'm an addict who struggles and remains responsible.") instead of making up an inauthentic story ("From now on I quit.")—and whether that ability is the basis for a new chapter in the story. Furthermore, he affirms that narrativist accounts cannot provide a “truth” criterion, yet he implicitly accepts the tradition of American democracy as the dialogical narrative context to which authenticity must attend (i.e., the external norm for the social virtue of authenticity). To do this, he substitutes the “dignity” of democracy for the "true and good" that the inner self once promised, without explaining how the new criterion was determined.

For Guignon, the (post)modern tortured by the questions of authenticity needs to stop worrying about whether her inner self and outer self align morally (since this is a false, modern conception to begin with), discern the social commitments and ideals that promote free society (since this is the external norm by which authenticity is dignified), take a stand for this good in society (as a responsible agent), and release herself to the social discourse (a notion of "releasement" developed from Gadamer). The number of problems this leaves open is tremendous, but essentially the attempt to construe authenticity as both a personal and a social virtue fails to examine what the personal virtue entails in the wake of postmodernism. The reason for this may be that developing the personal virtue over against the social virtue will point us back to a notion of inner and outer selves, which Guignon rejects reject. Nonetheless, the question remains whether it doesn't provide far more terminological clarity to use one word for the personal virtue (authenticity) and another for the social virtue (sincerity), if indeed they are different kinds of virtue as Guignon thinks.

[Will · Rating 1 out of 5]

A decent but shallow introduction. The absence of any discussion of Kierkegaard is ridiculous, given that historically he's where the concept of authenticity originates in its modern sense. Instead Guignon unknowingly attributes to Heidegger what Heidegger appropriated, without attribution, from Kierkegaard. Also totally absent are Marx, Erich Fromm, Erving Goffman, and Adorno, the latter three being not exactly minor names on the subject.

[Maddie Starr · Rating 3 out of 5]

I had to read this for a philosophy class, and while I feel smarter because I can talk about philosophers, this book hurt my brain so much. I don’t feel much closer to understanding what “authenticity” really is, and I now flinch every time someone says that word. This book just had too much content shoved in each chapter.

[Brad Hawley · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fantastic. Really interesting ideas explored. I'll be thinking about this one for a long time.

[Pooya Razavian]

I'm half way through it, and it's fascinating.

[Dessa · Rating 3 out of 5]

What is an authentic self?
Is it introspective? Is it extroverted?
Is it personal? Is it social?
Is it going to be a large part of my MA thesis?

[Brandi · Rating 5 out of 5]

I started reading this book because I’m on a philosophy kick, and I was doing research for a job in the professional development/executive coaching/self-help world. In that professional space, there’s much lip service given to finding “the true self” through introspection (and coaching), and I wanted to get clear on what we mean when we encourage one another to be authentic and dispense with the cultural and social baggage that supposedly impeded our ability to self-realize and achieve personal fulfillment.

This book takes the reader through the intellectual history of the concept of authenticity. The author asks: What does it mean to be authentic? How has this concept shifted over time? What is the connection between identity, individuality, and authenticity? What role does agency play in the pursuit of authenticity? Does a substantial self, distinguishable from the socially constructed self, lie within each person? Should we consider authenticity a social virtue and what would this look like? If your synapses aren’t firing after reading these questions, maybe this isn’t the book for you. It’s a fine, satisfying exploration of a concept that’s taken for granted and grossly glossed in within modern self-help discourse. Fun stuff.

[Irein Thomas · Rating 4 out of 5]

A really intriguing work that examines the importance of authenticity in modern times—the part I found lost illuminating was his argument that in pre-modern times, people had a sense of being a part of the Cosmos, being one part of an interconnected world—whether it was Greek polytheism, Early Christianity, or Chinese Confucianism. However, the rise of the scientific outlook leads to a “disenchantment of the world” in which human beings become the main subject, and the universe is material to be categorized, explored, and conquered through scientific tools. With a disenchanted world, what has to become enchanted is the self, in which lies all truth and goodness—this paves the path to why authenticity, expressing who one truly is, is such an important moral ideal, particularly in the West.

[Kayla · Rating 3 out of 5]

I enjoyed reading different perspectives on what authenticity is, but I have a hard time accepting Guignon's at the end. How is this achievable in the society we live in? How can we be authentic with a flawed educational system and a society that continues to promote authenticity as an individual virtue, not a social one?

[Jonah Zgraggen · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is an interesting, concise critique and integration of both the common notion of authenticity as the interior pursuit of one’s “true” self and the counter argument that the self is inherently socially constructed.

[Grace · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'm on a philosophy kick and liked this a lot - trying to look more inside than out, knowing the real me. Really prepping for my Saturn Return - which feels insane to say out loud. A quick read for an introspective mood - would recommend!

[Blake Buchholz · Rating 5 out of 5]

What does it mean to be yourself? Why are we constantly fed with that message? Amazing to see that philosophy (albeit more so history) can still be impactful and accessible in the modern day. This introduced me to having a more narrativistically driven view on life and for that I am thankful.

[Michael Farrell · Rating 3 out of 5]

did not convince me that authenticity is that important. tendency to evoke the superhealthy as the authentic individual. so what?

[vitória ᓚᘏᗢ · Rating 3 out of 5]

it's fine considering i wouldn't have read it if it wasn't for an academic purpose

[Heidi Humble · Rating 2 out of 5]

It helps discuss the different ideas on how to view the self and lists the pros and cons of each. However, the layout of this book can get confusing and the reader will get annoyed with the repetition and no clear result in the end.

[Toujours Bohème · Rating 4 out of 5]

Read in college, for a course. I think everyone should read this book. Guignon asks really good questions.

[Matt · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting discussion on the various perspectives and philosophies on the ideal of authenticity. Guignon does a good job at presenting and dissecting the different ideas of authenticity that have existed over time.

[Cindy · Rating 3 out of 5]

I enjoyed the conclusions of this book, but the writing was a bit arcane in nature. I'm not sure if it was the writer's style that bothered me or perhaps I was trying to read something profound too quickly.

[Marilena · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very interesting thoughts about identity and..being authentic with references to different historical times and also to well-known philosophers.

[Lee Klein · Rating 4 out of 5]

Accessible and valuable summary of the history of thinking re: everything re: authenticity re: human existence.

[Paula · Rating 5 out of 5]

The book provides an interesting critique of existential nihilism, which lead me to the book I'm currently reading: The Conquest of Happiness.

[David · Rating 5 out of 5]

this book makes you take a hard look at yourself and ask some serious existential questions.