Alienation, authenticity and the self

Abstract

While many commentators have held that the concept "alienation" is of crucial importance when attempting to understand human existence, others have held that it is an inherently empty concept that we should abandon. In this article, I refute the latters' charge by showing that each conception of "alienation" is underpinned by a normative ontological conception of the preferable, or authentic, self and show that the concept "alienation" has ethical, existential and socio-political uses. From this I conclude that, when properly understood, the concept "alienation" can provide us with vital insights into human existence.

Alienation in a four factor world

“…Likewise, integration can itself be a source of alienation: one loses oneself in the accepted conventions of ‘what one does’, a particular form of alienation highlighted by Martin Heidegger in his analysis of ‘das Man’ in Being and Time . Hence Rae () points to the distinction between antagonistic and integrative authenticity, where the former involves taking a critical stand on taken‐for‐granted customs and thought‐patterns. At the same time, hyper‐criticism can leave one unmoored and adrift, without the anchors needed to realize oneself in effective worldly actions, a form of alienation critique – rootlessness – that tends to be associated with conservative critiques of modern society.…”

Alienation in a Four Factor World

“…Likewise, integration can itself be a source of alienation: one loses oneself in the accepted conventions of 'what one does', a particular form of alienation highlighted by Martin Heidegger in his analysis of 'das Man' in Being and Time. Hence Rae (2010) points to the distinction between antagonistic and integrative authenticity, where the former involves taking a critical stand on taken-for-granted customs and thought-patterns. At the same time, hyper-criticism can leave one unmoored and adrift, without the anchors needed to realize oneself in effective worldly actions, a form of alienation critiquerootlessnessthat tends to be associated with conservative critiques of modern society.…”

Siguiendo el rastro de la alienación en la teoría sociológica contemporánea. Una lectura de los diagnósticos de la modernidad tardía de A. Giddens, J. Habermas y N. Luhmann

“…Así como al preguntarnos por la totalidad en los autores que analizamos el problema de la alienación nos es muy provechoso para su esclarecimiento, lo mismo ocurre cuando indagamos sobre la otra dimensión que nos resulta pertinente en este trabajo: la individualidad y la autenticidad (Rae, 2010). Este segundo eje, se vincula profundamente con el anterior, ya que muchas de las cuestiones que nos referimos recién, se comprenden en profundidad con la combinación de ambas.…”