Authenticity as (post-) modern ethics: An analysis of the New York Times’ Ethicist column
As (post-) modern institutions multiply and become more abstract and fractured in their ethical prescriptions, individuals must learn navigate ethical ambiguity on their own. One way that this appears to be accomplished is through the pursuit of ‘authenticity’ within and across specific contexts. Based on a sample of 600 letters published between 2002 and 2014, this article explores the New York Times’ Ethicist column as a site where individuals grapple with personal responsibility to engage in ethical behavior, often doing so in the name of authenticity. Instead of relying on external institutions, to dictate ethical choices, such ethical trade-offs become the bones of one’s identity. This can result in tension between within-context authenticity that is derived from specific roles and relationships and across-context authenticity that transcends people and places. This tension is a defining feature of ethical action in the (post-) modern era.