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This quiz is designed to help you with close reading and understanding a dense, sometimes puzzling text...once you have reached the CORRECT quiz answer, you receive a reward; however, the first group to put together *the best* thesis on what TAYLOR's argument/definition of authenticity is receives an extra prize.

UNDERSTANDING SOURCES OF AUTHENTICITY

Indeed! Descartes and Locke had approximately the same theory on individualism, that each person must think and take responsibility for his/herself. Locke just went political with it--each individual's will must come before/trump their role in greater society.

Yeeha!

Regarding individualism, who was (metaphorically) rubbing elbows with Locke?

SELF-AWARENESS IS THE BUZZWORD OF THE DAY.

Hoorah, hoorah!

What is the significance of these individualism theories on AUTHENTICITY?

At least in Charles Taylor's view, while Romanticism was very focused on the individual, quite influenced by the aforementioned theories of Descartes and Locke, ties to community were also important, namely to invoke change from the 'ultimate truths' one realizes through self-awareness and expressions of art, emotions, etc.

That's RIGHT, yes!

Based on both Courbet's self portrait AND what's going on around it in the above picture, what can you glean about the Romantic period?

Yes, God. Initially, morality was quite dependent on calculating DIVINE consequences of actions. Especially since God was the ultimate path to full being.

GOD.

Prior to the late 1800s, morality was...

Woot.

How would you describe the next (and still fairly applicable) version of morality?

No! God was almost never benched at this time in history. God was always in the game. The 'modern' morality, based on inner voice, etc, was the PATH TO God. God was still the quarterback throwing the spiral toward your full-being-touchdown.

When this 'modern' morality first arose, did it exclude God?

This theory of Rousseau is essentially what Taylor refers to as "self determining freedom": We are only free when we decide for ourselves what concerns us, rather than allowing externals to influence us.

Yes!

What was the deal with Rousseau? What did he articulate about inner voice in the context of society?

Negative liberty is merely being free to do what we want without INTERFERENCE from others/externals. On the other hand, Rousseau's "self determining freedom" DEMANDS that you break any existing holds, conscious or unconscious, of external influences.

What is the difference between "self determining freedom" and "negative liberty"?

Rousseau pushes self-determining freedom into a more political sphere: it is a social contract, that the definition of freedom is the ability to push back against societal constraints, and therefore, opposition to self-determining freedom is a moot point.

So, how is self determining freedom different from AUTHENTICITY?

Yes, the calling. We've all heard of that! The importance of Herder's ingredient to the AUTHENTICITY soup, however, is the idea that if we're not true to this 'calling', this 'original way of being human', we'll miss the point of our lives.

So, the ingredient that creates AUTHENTICITY out of the potion of all these other theories, motivations, and intentions is...

DID YOU EVEN READ THE ARTICLE? GO BACK AND READ THE ARTICLE.

Not quite, but I know you're bright, so set your sights on the text, all right?

ALMOST. SO CLOSE. YOU GOT THIS.

You are a SOURCES OF AUTHENTICITY EXPERT, move on to creating a thesis.

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UNDERSTANDING SOURCES OF AUTHENTICITY

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