Postmodernity and Authenticity as an Ethical Ideal

The quest for authenticity as an ethical ideal can be observed throughout the intellectual history of modernity from the Renaissance to the mid-twentieth century. One of the objectives of this study is to support this fundamental claim with reference to the relevant works of certain writers and phil...

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Bibliographic Details
Published inIdeas: Journal of English Literary Studies Vol. 3; no. 1; pp. 44 - 57
Main Author Serhat Uyurkulak
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published The English Language and Literature Research Association of Türkiye 01.04.2023
Subjects
authenticity
autistic subject
digimodernism
ethics
postmodernity
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Summary:The quest for authenticity as an ethical ideal can be observed throughout the intellectual history of modernity from the Renaissance to the mid-twentieth century. One of the objectives of this study is to support this fundamental claim with reference to the relevant works of certain writers and philosophers selected from different centuries to represent that long period called modernity. While the thinkers whose works are discussed to reach this goal are primarily Rousseau, Nietzsche, and Sartre, several other names are also included in this overview. Another objective of this article is to identify the common aspects of these theoretical and philosophical narratives titled “authenticity-thinking,” and to underscore their conditions of possibility. Relatedly, the main question that this study tries to answer is whether these conditions are still present in postmodernity (F. Jameson), post-postmodernity (J. Nealon), or digimodernity (A. Kirby) that follows modernity. One of the most crucial elements in this study’s assessment of contemporary societies is the figure of autistic subject that is claimed to have replaced the subject of authenticity.
ISSN:2757-9549