Introduction
     Here we are.
On a tiny, whirling, blue-green planet often covered with white clouds
in a vast ocean of empty, black, cold nothingness.
What will we do with ourselves for the duration of our lives?
(On the average, each of us will live 600,000-700,000 hours.)

     All the plants and animals that share this planet with us
have biologically-given natures and destinies.
Each of them will follow the pattern appropriate for its species,
live out its natural life-span, and become humus in the earth.

     Of all life on this planet, only we humans have the capacity
to shape our lives around our own purposes.  (What will I live for?)

     Altho as free human persons we can choose our own destinies,
all of us have been raised within particular human cultures,
which have given us detailed plans-of-action for our lives.

     But we need not repeat those patterns from the past.
Altho our genes differ little from humans of 100,000 years ago,
we lead dramatically different lives because we have benefited
from the past several thousand years of human learning.
And human beings pursue many diverse life-meanings.
Recognizing this amazing range of human goals and purposes
might enable us to diverge from our given culture
as much as any culture differs from another, ancient or modern.

     Consequently, this book does not offer an alternative way of life;
it does not prescribe a 'new and better' conformity.
But it will outline a structure for human existence
in which we re-create ourselves according to our own designs.

     This "Authentic Existence" might begin with a recognition
of the fundamental absurdity and meaninglessness of human life.
Existence contains no hidden meanings.
We were born without instructions, without any reason for being.
As we become aware of our human condition,
we find ourselves cast into the blind, purposeless whirl of existence.
Out of this formlessness, we must either create ourselves
or allow ourselves to be shaped by the cultural forces around us.
We must either choose or be chosen for.

     Because human existence contains no automatic purposes,
we can center our lives around whatever purposes we choose.
First we will probably try to find happiness
—seeking many kinds of pleasure, comfort, & enjoyment
in physical, emotional, intellectual, & spiritual hedonism.
But we might find the pursuit of happiness ultimately disappointing
and turn our attention instead to the quest for meaning.             

INTRODUCTION to BECOMING MORE AUTHENTIC by JAMES PARK                                 3

     Becoming more Authentic means organizing our lives
around whatever we choose as our central meanings and purposes. 
Even if we cannot overcome ultimate absurdity and meaninglessness,
we can always choose to live what we regard as worthy human lives.

     The chart below outlines a definition of Authentic Existence.
We all begin adulthood as products of our cultures (left column),
but we can grow toward greater Authenticity (right column). 
(Part I of this book is built around this definition:
Chapter 1 explains # 1-8 of the chart; Chapter 2 explains # 9-23.)
We always live somewhere between original existence and Authenticity.

        Original Existence                         Authentic Existence

                Conformity                                              Autonomy

  1.    Accept (even defend)                           1.    Transcend enculturation.
       our given culture or sub-culture.
  2.    Governed by cultural patterns;         2.    Invent our own patterns;
       victims of circumstance.                            rise above circumstances.
  3.    Culturally-defined types.                     3.    Unique, self-defining, self-creating.
  4.    'Pursue' culturally-provided               4.    Create our own meanings and goals.
       meanings and goals.
  5.    Role- and game-playing;                     5.    No roles or games from the culture.
       elaborate social games and rituals.
  6.    Directed by others.                                6.    Directed by ourselves.
  7.    Believe what others believe.               7.    Believe what we know from experience.
  8.    Lost in the immediate present;          8.    Gather the past, present, & future
       pulled from one moment                             into the wholeness of our
       to the next.                                                      resolute selves.    

Structure of Our Selves, Identity

  9.    Deny our Existential Predicament.      9.    Embrace our Existential Predicament.
10.    Fragmented.                                            10.    Unified.
11.    Unfocused.                                              11.    Focused.
12.    Unowned (or owned by the 'they')    12.    Owned by ourselves.
13.    Diffuse, hazy.                                          13.    Solid, organized.
14.    Unintegrated.                                          14.    Integrated.
15.    Uncentered.                                             15.    Centered.
16.    Lost in superficial details.                    16.    Governed by larger, deeper patterns.
17.    Double-minded.                                      17.    Single-minded; willing one thing.
18.    Complex, tangled.                                  18.    Simple, direct.
19.    Indecisive.                                                19.    Decisive.
20.    Self-indulgent.                                         20.    Self-creating.
21.    Seeking equilibrium, homeostasis.    21.    Seeking meaning, purpose.
22.    Bad faith—trying to be a thing,            22.    Always free and responsible
        role, temperament, or type.                         for inventing ourselves.
23.    Many competing concerns;                 23.    Having an ultimate concern.
        no structure or organization.                             

4  BECOMING MORE AUTHENTIC: THE POSITIVE SIDE OF EXISTENTIALISM by JAMES PARK
How to cite the above pages from Becoming More Authentic

    Students and scholars are invited to quote
anything from the above pages. 
Here is the proper form for the footnote or other reference: 

James Park  Becoming More Authentic:
The Positive Side of Existentialism
(Minneapolis, MN: Existential Books, 2007—5th edition)
p. 3-4  

{the page numbers appear at the bottom of the pages}

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Becoming More Authentic: The Positive Side of Existentialism.

Created September 11, 2008; revised 3-19-2009; 3-3-2017;

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