Thesis submitted for obtaining the Doctor of Philosophy degree in Human Sciences, Speciality 033 – Philosophy. – V. N. Karazin Kharkiv National University, Ministry of Education and Science of Ukraine, Kharkiv, 2023.
The dissertation is devoted to the search for one’s authenticity in the context of the metamodern cultural and philosophical paradigm. Current research establishes the features of the birth of metamodern authenticity under the influence of the fundamental ideas of the political metamodernism (Hanzi Freinacht), investigates the human dividual nature, proposes the concept of purchased authenticity, puts forward a manifesto that complements the work with the author’s view of the place of authenticity and metamodernism in Ukraine.
In our view, the search for authenticity is the leitmotif of metamodernism, in particular the political metamodernism of Hanzi Freinacht. Society needs renewal to withstand the world polarization, the fluctuations of public sentiments, and deliberately form one’s own individuality and authenticity under the influence of social, ecological, economic, military, and political challenges in Ukraine and all over the world. So it is necessary to investigate the impact of metamodernist self-awareness and world perception on the formation of a new authenticity.
The purpose of the PhD thesis is to study personal authenticity in the context of metamodernity, as a cultural-philosophical and socio-political paradigm. The object of the research is metamodernism as a socio-philosophical paradigm, and the subject matter of the research is the perspectives of interpretation of the search for personal authenticity arising in the metamodern paradigm.
In the current thesis, the concept of authenticity is considered a social construct, as a result of intersubjective, transpersonal interaction between people who begin to contact each other differently, compared to the periods of dominance of traditional, modern, and postmodern cultural codes. Metamodernism expands our views on spirituality, society, aesthetics, science, and religion and contributes to the formation of a decent way of life in the XXI century caused, on the one hand, by difficulties, and on the other hand, by the unprecedented progress of the century.
The scientific novelty of the obtained results is the following:
1. The development of the metamodern paradigm was monitored and the areas of study of metamodern trends were established based on the reception of metamodern ideas in the works of domestic researchers;
2. Personal authenticity was analyzed within the metamodern cultural and philosophical paradigm, in particular in the political metamodernism of Hanzi Freinacht;
3. A comparison of the six-dimensional model of inequality in the political metamodernism of Hanzi Freinacht and the concept of the age of access by Jeremy Rifkin was made;
4. The concept of “purchased authenticity” was introduced into scientific circulation based on the study of the place of the ideal of authenticity in advertising and the peculiarities of its exploitation to sell various goods and services;
5. For the first time, the monographic works of Hanzi Freinacht were investigated to clarify the formation of the new features of personal authenticity in the context of political metamodernism;
6. The theory of dividuation in political metamodernism was analyzed based on the analysis of the concept of “dividual”; the definition of the concept of “dividualization” was proposed;
7. The prospects for the adaptation of political metamodernism and the emergence of metamodern authenticity against the background of the challenges facing Ukrainian society were determined;
8. The two-part manifesto was put forward, which reflected the metamodern worldview in the context of Ukrainian realities.
The theoretical and practical significance of the obtained results are significant for the analysis of authenticity at a conceptual crossroads in European thought regarding the post-postmodern situation at the beginning of the 21st century. The work examines the transition from postmodernity to metamodernity, which affects the ideal of authenticity, people’s identity, and ideas about themselves.
The research results can be used for an in-depth study of metamodernism, the development of the concepts of authenticity and metamodernism, and the implementation of metamodern ideas in Ukrainian society. The obtained results indicate the emergence of metamodern features of authenticity, which in practice contributes to a deeper understanding of the crisis of a person against the background of the current civilizational threats.
Keywords: authenticity, cultural reality, development, dividual, human, identity, metamodernity, metamodernism, personality, political regime, postmodernity, postmodernism, post-postmodernism, social construct
