THE AUTHENTIC SELF

By Fr. Michael D. Moga, S.J.

Who am I? What is this reality called “self”? One characteristic of contemporary Western thought
is an attempt to understand the self. One form of this concern is found in existentialism, in authors such as
Kierkegaard, Heidegger and Sartre. These men discover in human life two selves, one the authentic self,
the other the inauthentic or “they” self. I am authentic if I truly live my own life. I freely assume my life
and its circumstances, and I consciously work it out toward a definite purpose. I am inauthentic when my
life is lived by the “crowd”. In such a case I let myself be carried along in life without personal
involvement. Let us consider in detail each of these selves.

THE INAUTHENTIC SELF

Existentialists refer to the inauthentic self in many ways. Kierkegaard uses the words “crowd” or
“public”. Others use the term “they” derived from the expression “they say”. We often use “they say” in
sentences such as “This is what they say is true” or “They say he is very good”. The inauthentic self may
also be referred to by the expression “one” in statements such as “One shouldn’t do that” or “One is
expected to do this.” All of these expressions (crowd, public, they or one) give us the sense of an
anonymous mob which determines what I think or say or do. The self is normally acting in my life is this
inauthentic self. Let us consider a few examples of how it operates.

Let us say that I am walking down a city street and I see a woman with a mini-length skirt. I make
the automatic judgment that she is wearing an odd-looking skirt and I pass on. Who was the “I” of this
judgment? Who decided what the ideal style of women’s dresses should be? As an individual I certainly
never made a person judgment in this area. What is stylish is determined by what “they” say. When I
made that automatic judgment about the woman’s skirt is was the judgment of the “they”. Somehow the
crowd is me when I make such a judgment.

Another example. I am a college student. If you asked me why I am here in college possibly I
would respond that it is good to get a college education and people should get as much schooling as they
possibly can. If you asked me why I think that way I would have a difficult time explaining myself. The
importance of going to school is an automatic part of our lives. In this case I have never really thought the
matter through and made a personal decision, but I am just going along with the thinking and decision of
everyone else. Who is this everyone else that decided that education is important? There are no
individuals that I can point to. “Everyone else” is just an anonymous reality which in this case is
responsible for a decision in my life.

A further example. I happen to meet a famous movie and television star. I find myself quite
excited and very happy when I am able to get his autograph. In my excitement for the rest of the day I am
continually talking about this famous person that I met. Why am I so excited? There is no clear reason
except that you are supposed to feel that way when you meet a famous star. It is something that is
expected. Thus, my feeling of excitement was governed by this very vague rule that applies to the crowd.
The excitement I feel is not my own personal feeling but the feeling of the crowd.
 THE “THEY” AS THE SUBJECT OF ACTIONS

In these examples we see that the “they” self is the one that judges, decides and feels; it is the
“who” part of my life. The thoughts and actions which I perform are performed by this reality. When I
made the judgment about the skirt, decided to go to college and got excited about the movie star, it was
the “they” which was acting. Thus, the “they” is the real subject of my actions, the one who acts. When I
ask the question “Who am I?” I have to admit that for the most part I am “they”. My feelings, judgments
and decisions are generally “theirs” and not my own.

It would be a mistake to conceive the distinction between authenticity and inauthenticity as a

distinction between what is good and what is bad. Authenticity is not a moral or ethical description. I can
be authentically evil as well as authentically good. I can discover and affirm myself in activity that can be
judged to be evil as well as good. On the other hand, my life may be filled with many good actions that
may be quite inauthentic since I have not yet personally assumed these actions. Authenticity refers,
therefore, to the personal quality of actions and not to their morality.

ANONYMITY

One strange aspect of the “they” self is its anonymity. It cannot be identified with any particular
group of concrete people not it is a matter of a majority decision. Certain values are affirmed and certain
decisions are made but there is no one in particular who affirms the values or makes the decisions.
Cultural values such as the importance of work or cleanliness or education are accepted and taken for
granted as part of our culture without any definite reason for their existence. When we try historically to
trace back the basis of such values, we are never able to pinpoint a precise source.

The words used to describe this “they” self show its anonymity. We say, “One doesn’t do that” or
“You don’t do that”, using the terms “one” and “you” which stand for no one in particular and everyone
in general. In a similar way when we say, “Everyone does it,” we do not intend to affirm that every
particular person does this action but that this action is what the anonymous mob does. We still can say
“everyone” even if there are particular persons who do not do it. So also, we use the expression “they
say” as in “they say he is very clever” or “that’s the style, they say.” In these cases, there are judgments
made but there are no definite people who stand behind those judgments. When I use such statements, it is
not I who speak but it is the crowd which speaks through me. I live in anonymity.

When I am lost in the crowd, there is an abstract quality to my life. I am really not actively living
my life in a personal way nor am I involved in any relationships with any concrete people. I move
correctly through a prescribed pattern of life, performing what is expected and meeting with certain set
responses from other people. In all of this, there is no real living going on, there is only the abstract
activity of the “they”.

LACK OF RESPONSIBILITY

Another characteristic of the “they” self is the total lack of individual responsibility that is found
in it. People who pass on some spicy gossip do not personally stand behind what they say but merely pass
on what “they say”. So too in the newspapers and on television there is generally no individual who takes
the responsibility for the truth of the news that is reported. We hear that “highly informed sources say” or
“it is reported that” and we are given no precise person who is responsible for this news.
 Similarly, when the “they” self rules in the area of judgments and decision, there is no personal
commitment. I am not responsible personally for the styles of men’s clothing even though I follow those
styles. I follow the values of my culture, striving for “success” and trying to get as much education as
possible. Even in the area of morality, the “they” self can rule my life. There are certain accepted
procedures in the competitive world of business and politics and I follow these procedures and patterns
and attitudes because “everyone” is doing it. In a sense, I have done no moral wrong because I have done
nothing at all, taking no personal moral responsibility for my life. My actions are the actions of the
“they”.
A WORLD OF TALK

A further characteristic that we find in the inauthentic self is that it is a world of talk, of empty
talk, where there is no real action or living. When “they say” that my life is a success, the success of my
life is confined to this world of talk. It is as if the intrinsic merits of my life are unimportant since I live in
success or failure depending on what “they” say. (They say a certain girl is popular, certain drink is
exciting, a certain song is a hit, a certain city is an exciting place to live, a certain restaurant is “in”, a
certain politician is honest.) Of course, the judgment of the empty talk of the “they” can change in some
mysterious way. What was said to be a failure before is now considered a success; what is said to be
morally correct in one culture is morally rejected in another. In these cases, the “they” affirms its
judgments with absolute certainty and without any doubt or hesitation even though its position may soon
change.

LEVELING

The inauthentic self tends to level everyone, setting up one norm that is to be universally
followed. It presents a safe, comfortable existence for everyone. Within it there is no room for persons to
live a distinctly individual sort of existence. There is no need for persons to take the effort to find
themselves or to undergo the anxiety of making personal risks. There is no need for them to exercise
discipline and self-denial in order to realize their own personal vocations. There is no depth of anxiety
and risk here, there is no height of personal achievement, there is only the set patterns of doing what
“they” say should be done. Life has been leveled.

PASSIONLESS

In inauthenticity human beings exist without any deep caring about anything, without passion.
They live the way they live because everybody is living that way, not because they have any values to
which they are personally committed. They respect their parents because that is what dutiful children do,
they work hard at their jobs because it is important to be a success, they stand at attention during the
playing of the national anthem because good citizen should show respect. But they don’t really care
deeply and personally about any of these activities. There is no “passion” in their lives.

Why is it that we live the life of the inauthentic self? One reason seems to be that we tend to go
along with life as it is given to us. As human beings we are thrown into a cultural context which provides
us with an understanding of life and guidelines for living human life. It is very natural for us to accept life
as it is presented to us and to live it that way. It requires considerable effort to step back from that way of
living, to come to a personal understanding of life, to become personally involved and to care deeply. It is
much easier to go along with the crowd in what they think and what they do. Another reason for an
inauthentic life would be a lack of courage. If we move away from the inauthentic self, we will have to
face the frightening prospect of standing alone and making personal decisions. It is much more
comfortable for us to lose ourselves in the security of the crowd.
 QUALITIES OF AUTHENTICITY

What would it mean to discover and to live one’s authentic self? There are certain basic qualities
that are emphasized by all the existentialist thinkers when speaking of authenticity. First of all,
authenticity meant that I as an individual freely assume and direct my life. Instead of having my values
and actions determined by the “crowd” I make decisions which determine the meaning and direction of
my life. These decisions may be directed toward change as I move into a new religion or career, changing
my life radically. On the other hand, my decision may be one of acceptance where I affirm some
dimension of my life that has previously been given to me such as my family, cultural values or religious
orientation.

Connected with this act of assuming one’s life is the attitude of responsibility that the authentic
person displays. As an authentic person, I stand behind my life. My relationships of family and friendship
are not mere social patterns of conduct but are relationships that I have had a hand in creating and to
which I have pledged myself. The religion that I profess is not merely the religion of my family or culture
but it is the response to God that I personally have chosen to make. The career in which I am engaged is
not merely a job that has been forced on me by circumstances but it is a lifework that I have chosen. As
an authentic person I stand behind my friendships, my religion and my career.

Another characteristic of authentic existence is its individuality. When living authentically I

express my unique self in my activity and my actions carry the stamp of that unique self. My life is not
the mere repetition of a social role, a formality prescribed by my culture. I am not to be measured by the
same scale by which others are measured. I cannot be compared with them since I have my own life, my
own style. If I am a mother, I am a mother in my own way. If a son, I have my own distinctive way of
relating to my parents. In authenticity, every human life has its own distinctive meaning, its own
particular destiny. Authenticity means that I live in terms of that meaning and in search of that destiny.

A further aspect of authenticity is its “passion”. Authentic persons have involvements in their
lives and they care deeply about them. If these involvements be a matter of relationships with others or
with God, they are deeply concerned and committed. If they are involved with a career or vocation, these
authentic people care deeply about them. They have something in their lives worth living for and fighting
for and they respond to those values with passion.

We should not conceive authentic people as rugged individualists who live antisocial lives apart
from human culture and all other human beings. The “they” from which authentic people free themselves
is an anonymous mob and is not to be identified with the concrete people which we find around ourselves
in our lives. As social persons, authentic people are necessarily involved with other people. Their
authenticity is found in the fact that they themselves choose to be involved and the style of their
involvements is particularly their own.

One further characteristic of authentic existence is the anxiety which authentic persons
experience. Stepping outside the “crowd” and daring to live life “my own way” requires courage. I am not
supported and reassured by the thought that others agree with me and are doing the same thing that I am
doing. I am forced to trust in the value of my own individual destiny and to go forward, experiencing the
anxiety of knowing that I may fail or make a mistake and the failure will be totally my own fault. I am
very much alone in making my decisions. Philosophers describe this painful experience with words such
as anxiety, dread and forlornness.
 EXAMPLES OF AUTHENTIC EXISTENCE

Let us consider what authentic existence might mean in some concrete situations. This will reveal
some of the possibilities of authenticity.

Authentic Religion. Being religious in an authentic way would mean first of all that your religion
is more than the following of social conventions. There is more to religious living than following the
customs of going to the graves on November 1st or not travelling on Good Friday or having your house
blessed. Authenticity also means doing more than merely fulfilling religious obligations. Going to Mass
on Sunday merely because it is the rule and being married in church merely because it is socially required
are examples of inauthentic religion.
My religion is authentic when I personally care about it, when my religion comes from me more
than from my society. In making it personal, I find my own way of being religious, not imitating the
religiosity of anyone else but discovering the unique way that God is calling me to be religious. I discover
my own particular way of praying and my own way of being a vital, active member of the Christian
community. I discover what God is asking of me as an individual and I respond to it. A further important
dimension of authentic religion is found in the passion that is expressed there. As an authentic religious
person, I take it seriously and am deeply involved.

Being an authentic student. Authentic students are those who have developed their own academic
interests and they spend their time following those interests. There are things they personally want to
know, there are skills they personally want to develop. In this pursuit of their interests, they have found
themselves as students. Furthermore, authentic students are those who are truly caught up in the process
of learning, who are involved in developing themselves, in learning more and in understanding more.
Even without the motivation of grades and assignments from teachers, authentic students are concerned
about learning. Thus, authentic students go beyond inauthentic values such as diplomas and grades.

Authentic friendship. The authenticity that can be found in our relations with other people can be
understood in several different ways. First of all, in authentic friendship, there is an involvement where
we pledge ourselves either implicitly or explicitly to our friends, committing ourselves to accept them for
what they are, promising to be loyal to them and to support them. They are not just other persons who
should be respected but they are friends and we stand by them.

Secondly, authentic friendship is always unique and no two friendships are ever the same. Each
relationship has its own distinctive character, a character that grows and develops with time. As it grows,
it becomes more and more our own unique production. Here the uniqueness of authenticity is found not in
“doing it my way” but in “doing it our way”.

Thus, it is that in authentic friendship we go beyond playing social roles and the patterns of
behavior prescribed for such roles where we act as older brothers, teachers or mothers. Similarly, the
persons we relate ourselves to in an authentic way are not merely younger sisters, fellow students or
women. They are treated in a very particular way.

Authentic work. One large area of possibilities for authenticity is found in one’s lifework. It is
possible for me to discover and develop myself in my work. This means that my work is more than just a
job, a way of earning a living, of making money. Sometimes, this kind of work is called a career, to
distinguish it from a mere job. In a career, I develop my own unique talents and grow as myself.
 When I am engaged in authentic work, I find myself in that work. If I am a nurse, it is not just
because I need a job but because I have the particular qualities that fit me for being a nurse. When I am
serving as a nurse I feel “This is me.” If I am an authentic teacher, it is because I feel “called” to be a
teacher and I sense that I have a “vocation” to be a teacher, that this is what I am supposed to do with my
life, something that God is calling me to do. Furthermore, in authentic teaching my own personality
shows itself in the approach that I follow and the way that I treat students.

Fully authentic work fills my life with meaning, giving me much to live for. Michelangelo lived
for his painting and sculpture. Albert Schweitzer lived to doctor his patients. Martin Heidegger lived to
ask philosophical questions. Work for these people was their life, giving them joy. How different is such
authentic work from the usual human experience of work where it is an evil, irrational burden, a cruel
punishment for some primordial fault that brings no life or joy. Usually, work is a harsh necessity and has
no meaning for me in my life, being only something which must be finished so that I might turn to what is
truly human and truly my life: my hobbies, my family and friends, my religion.

Suffering. One further area of human life where authentic existence is possible is that of suffering.
It is significant that existentialist authors frequently use suffering to exemplify their ideas about
authenticity, showing the many different approaches to suffering that are possible. We can see suffering
as an enemy, as something outside of us, an ugly burden that we must endure and seek to overcome. In
such an approach, we live to get beyond suffering. But suffering can be more than that. We can take
suffering into our lives and live that suffering, finding life in it. Persons whom we love may die and we
grieve for them, living that grief and holding on to it permanently. It is our way of being related to those
persons who have been torn from our lives. Or suffering may take the form of a painful family situation
which we accept. In accepting such a painful situation, we live our involvement in our families as our way
of being faithful members of those families. Or suffering can take the form of a painful, incurable disease.
In such a case, we may choose to accept and live our diseased lives, not seeking to escape this suffering
by suicide or drugs. In this way, suffering is our way of being human, the place where we find authentic
life and meaning.

THE VALUE OF AUTHENTICITY

Why should I be authentic? As the existentialists criticize inauthenticity or the “crowd” self, they
present authenticity as a value which they consider obvious. But the issue is not as simple and clear-cut as
they would seem to make it since both of these styles of being a self possess true values. Let us first
consider the values of authenticity.

Authenticity, first of all, represents the realization of my uniqueness. As I find myself in authentic
living something new and precious comes into the world, my unique self. Such a selfhood brings
blessings to my family and to the world around me since their lives are enhanced by their encounter with
my unique style of living, my unique values. My unique existence makes a special contribution to the
kingdom of God, bringing it to greater fullness by my own unique way of living and loving.

Authenticity is valuable, secondly, because it is a creative way of living. When I live

authentically something completely new comes forth in the realm of human existence: my own life. This
is something that was never before present in the world. Just as great composers or fine artists create new
music and new forms of art so I create my life, something with distinctive goals, values and style. This
creativity never stops as I move forward with my life and continually find myself in new ways,
responding to the new inspirations and challenges that arise. How different this is from inauthentic
existence where I follow the pattern of the crowd, merely repeating what they feel and judge and decide.
 A further reason for affirming the value of authenticity is the deeper level of life found here.
Through my involvements in my religion or my work or my personal relationships I live in a profound
way, caring deeply about what I am doing. There are serious values present in such a life and I commit
myself to them. The crowd type of existence tends to be superficial where I merely do what they say I
should do, without responding to any significant values or caring in any deep personal way about my life.

THE VALUE OF INAUTHENTICITY

Can we defend the inauthentic self, the crowd self? Of course. If we conceive the crowd self in
terms of one’s culture, we find it makes a major contribution to human life. One of the obvious values of
one’s culture is that it gives clear guidelines for my life, telling me how I should act as a man or a woman.
Because it gives me values and goals and furnishes me with moral rules, my life is free of confusion and I
do not have to struggle to decide how to live. I can move forward confidently and securely, freed of the
difficult task of working out a pattern of life all by myself.

A second value of the crowd is the richness and wisdom of the cultural tradition that is given to
me. Culture represents the corporate achievement of many generations, presenting me with values that
have taken centuries to develop, wisdom that comes from the experience of many thousands of men and
women, openings to art, religion and social existence that can enhance my life immeasurably. It would be
foolish of me to reject this vast treasure of tradition and to try to build everything from the beginning.

Finally, the crowd self gives me meaning and security. The patterns of life that are presented to
me by my culture give a sense what human life is to be and I can understand myself in these patterns.
Because of it, I know rather clearly what human life is meant to be. Furthermore, the crowd gives me
security, reassuring me that my life is acceptable. I know that I am not an outsider, unsupported by any
tradition. I am freed of the pain and anxiety that is there in authentic existence.

CONCLUSION

We are faced in life with a certain duality of existence, a duality that can never be completely
overcome. We are formed and guided by our culture, and we are given the opportunity to be an
individual. While pure “crowd” existence will never fully satisfy us, pure authentic existence can never be
completely achieved. It seems that we are called upon to grow in two directions, realizing the fullness of
both our cultural tradition and of our own unique and authentic selves.

Reference:
Moga, Michael D., S.J., The Enduring Questions: An Introduction to Philosophy. Makati: St. Pauls
Philippines, 2005, pp. 97 – 108.