THE POLITICS OF AUTHENTICITY

Abstract

Although most recent articles on Charles Taylor's vision on ethics and the Self focus on the implications of his ideas concerning religion in a secular world, his own concern actually lies somewhere else. This article will focus on the philosophical and political implications of Taylor's theory of the 'Authentic Self'. Taylor has claimed in The Malaise of Modernity that "the truth in these analyses is that it is not just a matter of changing the outlook of individuals, it is not just a battle of winning "hearts and minds", important as it is. Change in this domain will have to be institutional as well" .1 In our evaluation of this call for institutional change, we will first analyze Taylor's own work on the genesis of the autonomous and authentic self, followed by a brief overview of remarkable comments by some critics. In a next step we will explore his defense of a particular view on the modern Self, inspired both by his opinion on ethics, as well as his attack on a radical behaviorist view of the world and its inhabitants, in particular human beings. In the main part of the article, we will confront these insights with the philosophical inquiries of Michel Foucault and his followers on freedom and power. We will present the debate and enter into the discussion with Patton, Weir and Connolly. The main goal of this article is to stress the importance of the conversation between Taylor's and Foucault's thoughts on the 'homo politicus'. Finally, we hope to 'purify' some of Taylor's ideas, which is a difficult task given the talent of the author to present 'the best of both worlds'.