ABSTRACT
In western cultures, a specific kind of individualism that focuses on an ideal of personal authenticity is among our highest values. The quest and demand for personal authenticity is far from being odd and romantic, characteristic only of the non-conformist. Rather, it has become a widely acknowledged ideal in the upbringing of generations since the 1960s at least. Many people no longer expect children to accept the religion or political outlook of their parents without question; sons to ‘follow in the professional footsteps of their fathers’; ‘daughters to marry well’. On the contrary, they expect and urge them to develop an identity that is truly their own. That is, in the vocabulary of this volume, they encourage them to become persons who act for their own reasons.
