The ethics of authenticity in charles Taylor’s multiculturalist conception

Abstract

In the thought of Charles Taylor, the relationship between authenticity and multiculturalism involves fundamental elements of contemporary society, such as the formation of identities, the politics of recognition, the mass communication. Although controversial, these concepts gain harmony and coherence in thought Taylor, thanks to his philosophical method of the historical knowledge of the most important traditions that form the Western thought. The authenticity understood as mere assertion of individuality creates a conflict for the common good, because it would imply the idea of exclusion and its default would be an erroneous fudamentation of authenticity. Taylor's solution is to take the concept of authenticity in the sense of community, that is to say, in the sense of the person, the being naturally open to others, the place of achievement of authenticity.