Abstract
Authenticity is conceptually and historically related to the concept of autonomy, which has had a central place in bioethical theory and clinical ethics, for example, in the concepts of informed consent and patient rights. Unlike autonomy, however, the concept of authenticity has not played a central or independent role in either bioethical theory or in practice. To see why this is the case, this entry briefly reviews the conceptual and historical background of the concept of authenticity and discusses the important relationship of the concept of authenticity and autonomy. It will conclude with a discussion of the increasing role that authenticity is playing in bioethical treatments of a range of issues associated with the diverse topics of enhancement, advance care planning, and long-term care.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
References
Agich, G. J. (2003). Dependence and autonomy in Old Age: An ethical framework for long-term care. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press.
Bolt, L. L. E. (2007). True to oneself? Broad and narrow ideas on authenticity in the enhancement debate. Theoretical Medicine and Bioethics, 28, 285–300.
Bublitz, J. C., & Merkel, R. (2009). Autonomy and authenticity of enhanced personality traits. Bioethics, 23(6), 360–374.
DeGrazia, D. (2005). Human identity and bioethics. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Dworkin, G. (1988). The theory and practice of autonomy. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Elliott, C. (2003). Better than well. American medicine meets the american dream. New York: W. W. Norton.
Frankfurt, H. (1971). Freedom of the will and the concept of a person. Journal of Philosophy, 68(1), 5–20.
Heidegger, M. (2010). Being and time: A revised edition (trans: Stambaugh, J.). Albany: State University of New York Press.
Kierkegaard, S. (1970). Fear and trembling and the sickness unto death (trans: Lowrie, W.). Princeton: Princeton University Press.
Rousseau, J. J. (1997). Julie, or, the new Heloise: Letters of two lovers who live in a small town at the foot of the alps (trans: Stewart, P. & Hanover, J.). Lebanon: University Press of New England.
Sartre, J. P. (1992). Being and nothingness: A phenomenological essay on ontology (trans: Barnes, H.). New York: Washington Square Press.
Taylor, C. (1989). Sources of the self. The making of the modern identity. Cambridge: CUP.
Taylor, C. (1991). The ethics of authenticity. Cambridge: Harvard University Press.
Varga, S., & Guignon, C. (2014). Authenticity. In E. N. Zalta (Ed.), The Stanford encyclopedia of philosophy (Fall 2014 ed. http://plato.stanford.edu/archives/fall2014/entries/authenticity/. Accessed 27 Sept 2015.
Further Readings
Brudney, D., & Lantos, J. (2011). Agency and authenticity: Which value grounds patient choice? Theoretical Medicine and Bioethics, 32(4), 217–227.
Childress, J. F. (1990). The place of autonomy in bioethics. Hastings Center Report, 20(1), 12–17.
Welie, J. V. (1994). Authenticity as a foundational principle of medical ethics. Theoretical Medicine, 15(3), 211–225.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2015 Springer Science+Business Media Dordrecht
About this entry
Cite this entry
Agich, G.J. (2015). Authenticity. In: ten Have, H. (eds) Encyclopedia of Global Bioethics. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-05544-2_34-1
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-05544-2_34-1
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
Publisher Name: Springer, Cham
Online ISBN: 978-3-319-05544-2
eBook Packages: Springer Reference Religion and PhilosophyReference Module Humanities and Social SciencesReference Module Humanities