Leadership and the Unmasking of Authenticity: The Philosophy of Self-Knowledge and Deception

Description

Leadership and the Unmasking of Authenticity presents a philosophic treatment of the core concept of authentic leadership theory, with a view toward illuminating how authors in the history of philosophy have understood authenticity as an ideal for humanity. Such an approach requires a broader view of the historical origins of authenticity and the examination of related ideas such as self-knowledge and deception. The chapters of this volume illuminate the conflict between the contemporary understanding of authenticity and traditional philosophy by revisiting the ideas of thinkers who express self-knowledge as a cornerstone of their philosophy. Tracing the origins of our contemporary concern for authenticity to the writings of 18th century philosopher Jean-Jacques Rousseau, this book explores the key thinkers writing in the wake of Rousseau?s emphasis on sincerity, namely Friedrich Nietzsche and Martin Heidegger, to show that their acceptance of authenticity as an ideal for humanity was ambiguous at best. This volume also covers representative authors in the earlier history of philosophy, such as Plato, Niccolò Machiavelli, Francis Bacon, and John Locke. The result is a keen, in-depth analysis of works of philosophy and political philosophy that broach questions of authenticity, self-knowledge, and deception. This critical contribution to authentic leadership theory and the theory of authenticity will be a key resource for both undergraduate and graduate students in the fields of leadership studies, political science and philosophy. Contributors include: J.C. Byham, B.E. Cusher, E.A. Dolgoy, J. Fortier, N.W. Harter, M.A. Menaldo, H. Pedersen, J.M. Warner Cover Front Matter Copyright Contents Contributors Introduction 1. The lie in the soul: Authenticity, hypocrisy, and self-deception in Rousseau 2. Authenticity and the motives for political leadership: Reflections from Nietzsche’s Zarathustra 3. Heidegger on authenticity: The prospect of owning one’s existence 4. Different purposes, different lives: Socrates’ twofold presentation of his activity in Plato’s Apology of Socrates 5. Leadership and the virtue of deception in Niccolò Machiavelli’s The Prince 6. The politics of dissimulation: Francis Bacon, self-knowledge, and the art of lies 7. Authenticity or reasonableness? A Lockean view of leadership 8. Teaching leadership students to lie Index