At a party I met
a woman who said, “This is not really who I am. This is my party self.”
I was
immediately intrigued. I realized by admitting she wasn’t being authentic, paradoxically, she was acting
in an authentic way. Of course I wanted to know more about
who she really is; she provided snippets and then disappeared forever, leaving
me to ponder her secrets and to question the vast territory of “authenticity.”
I learned that
the term authenticity extends beyond psychology to apply to existential
philosophy and aesthetics. In psychology of course we understand it to mean the
degree to which one is true to one’s own personality, spirit, or character
despite external pressures.
An authentic self is distinct from the real
or true self which refers to how connected one is to his inherent feelings and
goals. (For more on the real self, please refer to my blog of November 12,
2012). By contrast, the authentic
self depends on other people to determine and declare, “He is an authentic person.” Or, “Yes, this work
of art is authentic.”
Authenticity is
a desirable quality. An effective leader convinces others he is authentic and genuinely concerned about
their needs. We don’t want to be fooled by a “phony,” a person who is not who
he says he is.
We hate to be
duped, fooled by a good imposter. A relatively recent example is Bernard
Madoff, who appeared to be a
supremely successful financier while
masterminding a huge Ponzi scheme and defrauding thousands.
For me, “The Emperor’s New Clothes," the tale by Hans Christian Anderson, is an example of
our tendency to follow the perception of the crowd. To deviate and trust ourselves in spite of common opinion
requires courage, and a grounding in the real self.
Conclusion: Determining authenticity is an
art. We do best when we connect to
the real essence- our feelings, perceptions, and knowledge of the discipline.
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