Becoming More Authentic:

The Positive Side of Existentialism

{ short course description: }

Do you want to make your life more:
autonomous, focused, organized, & meaningful?
Using a small book of the same name,
we will first define Authenticity,
take an Authenticity Test, consider several
possible Authentic projects-of-being,
and finally explore Authenticity as described by
Camus, Sartre, Heidegger, Kierkegaard, & Maslow.
The instructor is James Park,
existential philosopher and author of the text,
which will be available in class for $15.

{ one-page course description: }

Becoming More Authentic:

The Positive Side of Existentialism

Authenticity means creating our own comprehensive life-meanings.
When we re-center and re-integrate our lives
around our freely-chosen purposes,
we become more focused, unified, & decisive.
We resist enculturation and gain greater autonomy.
This approach to re-structuring human life
was developed by several existential philosophers and psychologists,
especially the ones discussed in this seminar:
Camus, Sartre, Heidegger, Kierkegaard, & Maslow.

A three-page presentation of Authenticity appears here:
Becoming More Authentic: The Positive Side of Existentialism.

Authenticity is more a structure than a content.
We individually must choose our basic life-goals.
But perhaps sharing with other persons
who are attempting to become more Authentic
will help us to make
the growth choices rather than the safe choices.

This seminar will be a discussion of Authenticity
as it applies to our own lives.
There will be four sessions, based on the Parts of the text:
1. Introduction of the participants and the course.
2. Part I: A Definition of Authenticity and an Authenticity Test.
3. Part II: Creating Our Own Authentic Projects-of-Being.
4. Part III: Authenticity as Described by 5 Existentialists.

The text for this course is Becoming More Authentic.
The complete table of contents will appear if you click this line:
http://www.tc.umn.edu/~parkx032/AU.html
From this table of contents you can open several pages of the book.
The text costs $15 (wholesale price) and will be available in class.

Instructor: James Park,
existential philosopher and author of Becoming More Authentic.

DATE & TIME: four weeks in a row.

PLACE: to be arranged, probably in Minneapolis, Minnesota.

FEE: free of charge.

{ This seminar as offered by the Experimental College of theTwin Cities (EXCO): }

Becoming More Authentic:

The Positive Side of Existentialism

    This seminar was first offered by EXCO in the fall of 2009.
See the website of the Experimental College of the Twin Cities (EXCO):
http://excotc.org/classes.
There are over 100 people on the e-mailing list for this class.
If you live in Minneapolis, St. Paul, or any of their suburbs,
click to join this list of interested persons.
Your input will help to select the next time and place for this seminar.

    This class is not a lecture series, since the printed book is better
at presenting the concept of Authentic Existence.
Rather, we have maximum discussion among the people
who choose to join this group.

    How might you decide to join the next quest for greater Authentcity?
First you look inside the book as deeply as you wish.
25% of the text is available on the Internet.
Do these pages make you want to read more?
Will this book help you to become the person you want to be?

    Would you like to meet other intelligent, creative people
who are ready to overturn cultural traditions and re-create themselves?
The Introduction gives you a good glimpse of both the style and content
of Becoming More Authentic: The Positive Side of Existentialism.

    What self-selected group of people will next be drawn together around this book?
Put yourself on the EXCO e-mailing list for Becoming More Authentic
if you might be ready to enter the next phase of your personal growth.

    Some special options for purchasing copies of Becoming More Authentic
have been developed for EXCO participants.

{ syllabus for distant learners: }

If you cannot attend the classes in Minneapolis or Saint Paul,
you should read as much as you please from the Authenticity Bibliography.
Then you can join the Internet Discussion of Authenticity.
Even if your questions or comments
are not posted as part of this internet discussion,
the instructor will reply to you by e-mail.

James Park is the facilitator of this class.
He is an existential philosopher and author of Becoming More Authentic.
Anyone may join the distant learning dialog at any time.
Send your comments and questions to James Park:
PARKx032@TC.UMN.EDU
He will respond to all communications.
Some questions and his replies
will be selected to be posted along with this course description.
Links to these Questions & Answers will appear below.

Pass the word to other Internet friends
who might be interested in exploring how to become more Authentic.

INTERNET DISCUSSION OF AUTHENTICITY FOR DISTANT LEARNERS

If you would like to read a three-page online article
summarizing the concept explored in depth in this class, go to:
Becoming More Authentic: The Positive Side of Existentialism.

Return to the EXISTENTIALISM page.

Return to the beginning of this home page:
An Existential Philosopher's Museum.

The views and opinions expressed in this page are strictly those of the page author.
The contents of this page have not been reviewed or approved by the University of Minnesota.