Meaning and authenticity
Subtitle: Bernard Lonergan and Charles Taylor on the drama of authentic human existence
By: Brian J. Braman.
Series: Lonergan studies
Publisher: University of Toronto Press
Published: 2008
Place of publication: Toronto; Buffalo
Language: eng
Number of pages: 138
ISBN-13: 9780802098023
Subjects: Lonergan, Bernard J. F; Taylor, Charles, -- 1931-; Heidegger, Martin, -- 1889-1976; Authenticity (Philosophy); Conduct of life
Description: "The language of self-fulfilment, self-realization, and self-actualization (in short, 'authenticity') has become common in contemporary culture. The desire to be authentic is implicitly a desire to shape one's self in accordance with an ideal, and the concern for what it means to be authentic is, in many ways, the modern form of the ancient question 'what is the life of excellence?' However, this notion of authenticity has its critics: Christopher Lasch, for instance, who equates it with a form of narcissism and Theodor Adorno, who views it as a glorification of privatism." "Brian J. Braman argues, despite such criticisms, that it is possible to speak about human authenticity as something that addresses contemporary concerns as well as the ancient preoccupation with the nature of the good life. He refers to the work of Bernard Lonergan and Charles Taylor, thinkers who place a high value on the search for human authenticity. Lonergan discusses authenticity in terms of a threefold conversion - intellectual, moral, and religious - while Taylor views authenticity as a rich, vibrant, and important addition to conversations about what it means to be human." "Meaning and Authenticity is an engaging dialogue between these two thinkers, both of whom maintain that there is a normative conception of authentic human life that overcomes moral relativism, narcissism, privatism, and the collapse of the public self."--BOOK JACKET.
Notes: Includes bibliographical references (p. [125]-129) and index.