This contribution focuses on Andreas Reckwitz’s considerations on phenomena of ‘exhausted self-realization’ and ‘disappointment’ in The Society of Singularities, as well as in his follow-up volume, The End of Illusions. Under discussion is the range of analytical distinctions that tend to come into play in this area between what one might call a generally primordial concept of self-realization and more derivative articulations of the concept that exhibit various aspects of instrumentalization—variously termed ‘self-maximization’ or ‘self-optimization’. The paper argues that while Reckwitz’s (...) work offers great resources for an understanding of how and why ‘self-realization’ so frequently appears to take on an instrumentalizing character in late-modern social behaviour, the extent to which his work attributes this tendency to a wholly immanent cultural-cognitive logic of lifestyle singularization is open to criticism. The reasons must also be sought from within the more directly economic contexts of diminished material security and solidarity typical of contemporary societies shaped by neoliberal economic governance orders at the level of policy. (shrink)

À peu près tout le monde a déjà fait l’expérience intuitive de l’authenticité, d’un moment qui semble révéler une lueur de sa véritable identité. Pourtant, en posant l’existence d’un «vrai moi», l’idée d’authenticité pose des défis métaphysiques qui mettent en lumière les complexités de l’individualité. J’avance que pour être bien examinée, l’authenticité exige une structure essentialiste qui tend à s’appliquer à l’identité personnelle. J’examine ensuite les trois types d’approches les plus influents dans les discussions philosophiques modernes contre cette position : (...) le romantisme et ses héritiers contemporains, l’existentialisme tardif et les conceptions de la vertu. Cette analyse met en doute la possibilité de générer une conception philosophique complète de l’authenticité. (shrink)

Jean-Jacques Rousseau remains an important figure in the history of philosophy, both because of his contributions to political philosophy and moral psychology and because of his influence on later thinkers. Rousseau's own view of philosophy and philosophers was firmly negative, seeing philosophers as the post-hoc rationalizers of self-interest, as apologists for various forms of tyranny, and as playing a role in the alienation of the modern individual from humanity's natural impulse to compassion. The concern that dominates Rousseau's work is to (...) find a way of preserving human freedom in a world where human beings are increasingly dependent on one another for the satisfaction of their needs. This concern has two dimensions: material and psychological, of which the latter has greater importance. In the modern world, human beings come to derive their very sense of self from the opinion of others, a fact which Rousseau sees as corrosive of freedom and destructive of individual authenticity. In his mature work, he principally explores two routes to achieving and protecting freedom: the first is a political one aimed at constructing political institutions that allow for the co-existence of free and equal citizens in a community where they themselves are sovereign; the second is a project for child development and education that fosters autonomy and avoids the development of the most destructive forms of self-interest. However, though Rousseau believes the co-existence of human beings in relations of equality and freedom is possible, he is consistently and overwhelmingly pessimistic that humanity will escape from a dystopia of alienation, oppression, and unfreedom. In addition to his contributions to philosophy, Rousseau was active as a composer and a music theorist, as the pioneer of modern.. (shrink)

The purpose of the article is to discover the peculiarities of the interpretation of sexual representation in the postmodern philosophical discourse; to analyze the way of becoming the category of sexuality an integral part of feminine subjectivity; to compare the ways of interpretation of the category of sexuality in the works of the Western and Ukrainian researchers. Methods and approaches. To investigate the theoretical framework in the postmodern philosophy the cross-disciplinary approach is used. The comparative approach is methodologically important to (...) clarify the problems concerning feminine subjectivity. The very approach provides the researcher with the opportunity to review the cultural peculiarities of the given historical period. Scientific novelty. Following the peculiarities of the gender approach it was discovered that the modern interpretation of the category of feminine subjectivity includes not only racial, class and ethnical differences, but the peculiarities of a sexual character. Unfortunately, the category of sexuality is still the way of women’s oppression. Nevertheless, this category is now an important tool when representing the versatile nature of feminine subjectivity. The problems of sexual marginality are considered to be the way of destroying gender stereotypes. Conclusion. It is proved that the postmodern philosophical discourse has contributed serious transformations when interpreting the feminine nature and changed the attitude to the very category of sexuality. The interpretation of the category of sexuality is a certain touchstone clarifying the attitude towards a human being in general and towards a woman in particular. It is determined that nowadays the problems of sexuality raise some concerns and anxiety posing more questions than giving the answers. One point is absolutely clear: it is impossible to investigate the nature of a modern human being out of the postmodern philosophical discourse. What is more, it is impossible to investigate the postmodern philosophical discourse out of the categories of human sexual representation. (shrink)