Comments on: Choice, equality, radical authenticity

By: Stentor

Stentor — Mon, 03 Dec 2007 05:36:27 +0000

See, I’m very skeptical (to put it mildly) of Christianity and Platonism. I lean much more toward the Existentialist view on this issue.

By: Hugo Schwyzer

Hugo Schwyzer — Thu, 29 Nov 2007 01:10:17 +0000

Well, I think Christians — and a great many non-Christians, such as your average Platonist — would argue that there is “real us” deep within, that that “real us” is our truest self, and though that “real us” is often obscured by both biological impulse and culture, it is a good thing for us to connect to it. Ultimately, the soul — the true self — is inherently Good, even if it is touched by depravity.

By: Stentor

Stentor — Thu, 29 Nov 2007 01:07:31 +0000

I’m very skeptical about ideals of “authenticity.” I think it too easily presumes that there’s a complete, immutable, preexisting “real you” lurking somewhere underneath a pile of false and disposable social/cultural accretions. But I think that, while people are certainly not infinitely plastic, the effects of our social environment and personal history go “all the way down” (which is good, because the pre-social basis we’re built on is hurtful and scary as often as it’s loving and egalitarian). I’d rather talk, perhaps, about wanting people to live lives that they value rather than authentic lives.

By: Shawna R. B. Atteberry

Shawna R. B. Atteberry — Wed, 28 Nov 2007 20:32:02 +0000

This is how I see feminism too. It’s letting people be who they really are instead of stuffing them into societal, cultural, and church stereotypes.