Charles Taylor Terms – The Ethics of Authenticity

The 3 problems of Contemporary society: Individualism, The primacy of instrumental reason & soft-despotism.

Moral horizons that transcend the self; that we compare things to, to determine value.

A hierarchy of beings in which humans know their place and and HOS are above us.

The discrediting of the great chain of being (thereby HOS).

Increasing narcissism and individualism which leads to social atomism + soft relativism.

We become dull and meaningless.

Using reason to determine someone/thing's value relative to us - negates meaningful dialogue.

Becoming increasingly politically apathetic - giving more power to the state, disempowering the individual.

Becoming individualist - having no allegiance to and moving away from society.

(Debased authenticity) Everyone following their own standard of values, negating HOS.

Permissive self-absorption that is the epitome of the modern culture of authenticity.

Supporting the notion that morality and knowledge depend on context, you cannot compare different contextual beliefs & you cannot convince others of your beliefs.

Everyone has a right to their own subjective 'relative' belief system based on what they value.

Self-contradictory and incoherent. E.

g. the notion of soft-relativism.

The 'freedom to view everyone equally' - soft-relativist.Society must remain neutral on what define's a good person.

The good (Taylor) form of authenticity where we engage in meaningful dialogue, horizons of significance and the inner voice (opposite of the modern culture of authenticity).

The modern approach that suggests that you can only be an authentic person if you solely listen to yourself (individualist) and ignore dialogue and HOS - but this is debased narcissism.

The origins of the debased modern culture of authenticity.

Descartes - making decisions based entirely on one's own thought remaining disengaged from society.

(Rousseau) - an innate morality that we should listen too but alongside meaningful dialogue and HOS.

Herder - we all have an original way of being, being true to ourselves and resist imitating others.

Engaging in meaningful debate and dialogue with significant others - one can only define themselves by engaging in dialogue with others.Because "the genesis of the mind is not monological but dialogical".

(similar to social atomism) A personal state of self-isolation and anxiety resulting from a lack of social control and universal standards.

Because of soft-relativism we view everyone has equal worth, so appointing someone with honour or a similar value is meaningless.

Trying to achieve authenticity.

But it is currently being done through individualism (modern culture) which creates Anomie.

Focusing only on internal human issues - ignoring things which transcend the self. Negates HOS such as Nature.

The struggle continues - the constant conflict between the knockers (who entirely dismiss authenticity as narcissistic) and boosters (who think the modern culture of authenticity is fine) highlights a struggle and suggests a need for a work of retrieval.

Retrieving the standards for the ideal of authenticity to raise culture back up and regain meaning (articulating the higher ideal).Instead of analysing and polarised debate between boosters and knockers.

We must recognise that the choice between continuing with the debased modern culture of authenticity and the higher ideal of authenticity is ours and we must take it.

Because of the current narcissism and debased individualism the future looks bleak - and everyone is just stuck on the negative polarised debate (La Lotta) rather than finding a work of retrieval.

The increasing focus on the individual and the expense of externalities (HOS & meaningful dialogue.

Route to authenticity - how we define ourselves (either through manner or matter).

The method of one's actions - solely self-referential (only using inner voice) negating externalities which is subjectivation.It is inevitable in out culture.

The content of one's actions - NOT solely self-referential but uses meaningful dialogue and HOS.It is NOT inevitable but is NECESSARY.

Imitation - reflecting (imitating) important externalities to that everyone can find a common meaning - not done in modern culture people only reflect themselves.Expressed by Taylor in art - romantic period artists imitated important externalities recognised in a common language - but this is not done in modern art.

(Shelley) Language/expression which doesn't allude/symbolise publicly available reference points (HOS) but instead is "self-defined, created and manifested" and therefore subjective (just using manner).

Language that symbolises/alludes to publicly available reference points (HOS) so that everyone can find common meaning in it - achieved through mimesis (the use of matter).

Capitalism in its current form, where technology dominates us, forces us to respond with atomistic and individualistic attitudes (trapping us in an Iron Cage (webber)).

Our current (modern) technological society (debased capitalist) dominantly encourages atomism and instrumentalism.This pushes the modern culture of authenticity rather than the ideal.

Uniting through a common purpose so that people can become empowered and decentralise the power of the tutelary government allowing us to engage in politics - thereby; engaging in meaningful debate, referring to HOS, and not being soft-despotist - which will achieve the ideal of authenticity.

The position citizens find themselves in when they are decreasingly unable to form a democratic initiative/form a common purpose and are then controlled by a tutelary government.

Current technology (technological society - debased capitalism - modernity) is enframed (dominated) by atomism and instrumentalism.We must re-enframe it as a capitalism that is not dominated by instrumentalism.