Reflexivity and internal conversation in self-help literature - a tentative examination

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.

Artykuł trzeci z numeru UCS 2017: 19(2)