"An impressively thorough treatment of the themes of sincerity and authenticity in Kant, Kierkegaard, and Levinas. Pickett's unpretentious and elegant style enable him to lay out complex ideas in an accessible way." -Carl S. Hughes, Texas Lutheran University, author of Kierkegaa…
The ethics of theatricality/the theatricality of ethics -- Kant: sincerity and the problem of imperfection -- The trouble with lying: Kant, character, and self-congruence -- Virtuous hypocrisy: incongruence in Kant's quest for character -- Kierkegaard: sincerity and the problem …
Drawing on the writings of Immanuel Kant, Søren Kierkegaard, and Emmanuel Levinas, Howard Pickett presents a vivid defense of "virtuous hypocrisy." Our fetish for transparency tends to allow us to forget that the self may not be worthy of expression, and may become unethically n…
This text presents the compelling study of 'new sincerity' as a powerful cultural practice, born in perestroika-era Russia, and how it interconnects with global social and media flows.
Shoot straight from the hip. Tell it like it is. Keep it real. We love these commands, especially in America, because they invoke what we love to believe: that there is an authentic self to which we can be true. But while we mock Tricky Dick and Slick Willie, we are inventing id…
Argues that there is no authentic self, that reality is people continually remaking themselves to look like the people they want to be, and that there is nothing inherently wrong with that.
