REFLEXIVITY AND INTERNAL CONVERSATION  IN SELF-HELP LITERATURE – A TENTATIVE EXAMINATION

Mateusz Szymczycha

Published: 2017-06-30

Vol. 19 No. 2 (2017)

Reflexivity and internal conversation in self-help liter ature – a tentative ex amination

Mateusz Szymczycha

Abstract

The article is an analysis of the concepts of authenticity and self-realization presented in self-help books in terms of the modes of reflexivity involved in the pursuit of authentic existence. The source material is analyzed using the concepts of concerns and internal conversation developed by Margaret S. Archer. Advice on how to achieve self-realization is examined using Archer’s notions of communicative, autonomous and meta-reflexivity. Other theoretical inspirations include the insights of Peter Berger and Thomas Luckmann regarding theories about identity, Nikolas Rose’s remarks on “psy”, as well as Charles Taylor’s reflections on the ethics of authenticity, horizons of intelligibility and free choice as a value.

Keywords:

authenticity, self-help, reflexivity, concerns, internal conversation

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Szymczycha, M. (2017). Reflexivity and internal conversation in self-help liter ature – a tentative ex amination. Academic Journal of Sociology, 19(2). Retrieved from https://czasopisma.uksw.edu.pl/index.php/ucs/article/view/2957

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