ON BEING AUTHENTIC What does it mean to be true to myself? An issue for reflectionWHAT DOES IT MEANTO BE TRUE TO MYSELF? “This man is so authentic!” “That girl is fake, a phony!” “I will not listen to them – I must be true to myself!” What does it mean to be authentic, or true to myself? Who should I be true to? Who do I betray when I am inauthentic, or fake? Who is my true “I”? When...
LIST OF PHILOSOPHERS
Henri Bergson (1859-1941) THEMES ON THIS PAGE: 1. CONSCIOUSNESS IN CONSTANT CHANGE 2. TIME AND THE SELF 3. INTUITION AND INTELLECT 4. AUTHENTICITY Henri Bergson (1859-1941) was an important French philosopher, extremely influential at the beginning of the 20th century, and a Nobel Prize winner in literature. He was born near Paris to a Jewish family, but as a teenager he lost his faith. He did his PhD in philosophy at the University of Paris, and his doctoral thesis was “Time and Free Will,”...
>GEORGES BATAILLE Sexuality as death Georges Bataille (1897-1962) was a French intellectual who wrote many essays in philosophy and other fields. He studied at École Nationale des Chartes in Paris, and then worked occasionally as a librarian. He published extensively, founded several journals and literary groups, and at different stages was interested in different approaches to philosophy and art. He often wrote essays, novels, and poems on socially “inappropriate” topics such as torture, pornography, and bodily fluids. He died at the...
MARTIN BUBER (1878-1965) THEMES ON THIS PAGE: 1. I-IT AND I-YOU2. THE SPHERE OF THE “BETWEEN”3. INCLUSION AND DIALOGUE4. WITH ANIMALS AND PLANTS5. WITH IDEAS4. WITH GOD Martin Buber (1878-1965) was a Jewish Austrian-born Israeli philosopher, writer, and an activist of cultural Zionism. He was born in Austria, became a professor in Frankfurt, but after the rise of Nazism left for Israel (then Palestine, under British mandate). He wrote on Hassidism and mysticism, but is best known for his dialogical philosophy,...
Edmund Burke (1729–1797) The Terror of the Sublime Edmund Burke (1729–1797) was a British philosopher and politician. He grew up in Dublin, Ireland, which was then part of Britain, and after college education moved to London. He worked in several positions while writing and publishing several philosophy books. In his mid-thirties he entered a political career, was elected to the British House of Commons, and remained there for almost 30 years. As a good speaker he gave many speeches, many of...
ISAIAH BERLIN Freedom from and freedom to Sir Isaiah Berlin (1909-1997) grew up in Latvia and Russia, but because of anti-Semitism his Jewish family moved to Britain in 1921. He became a philosophy professor at Oxford University, and is popularly known for his essay “Two concepts of liberty.” The following passages are adapted from a famous essay by Isiah Berlin, "Two Concepts of Liberty," delivered at Oxford University in England in 1958, and published later. The essay has been influential in...
FRIEDRICH EDUARD BENEKE Morality expresses the ideal human essence Friedrich Eduard Beneke (1798-1854) was a German philosopher who struggled against the philosophical norms of his time, and throughout his life was persecuted for his views by academic and political authorities. He studied philosophy at the University of Berlin with the feeling that his mission was to open a new path for philosophy. In his dissertation, the 24-year old Beneke passionately attacked Kantian philosophy, arguing against Kant’s idea of apriori knowledge. Instead,...