UmbralAdam

UmbralAdam t1_ivg68t8 wrote

consumerism and the collapse of authenticity

Identity, as per existentialism, must follow existence and must thus be causally posterior to exposure to an empirical world. The identity itself is constructed reflexively in response to the material realm.

Impoverish the material realm, and you equally Impoverish the repository from whence identity is constructed. Homogenisation equals such impoverishment. So, totally administering the empirical life world must lead, causally, to a commensurate administration of identity formation. People become the same intellectually.

The loss of epistemic distance between people also marks the loss of conditions conducive to sustained dialogue. For dialogue, to survive, requires difference and asymptotic vascilation (similar to socratic inquiry).

The resultant collapse of epistemic distance positions people so closely together that the distance required for meaningful debate, and by extension true relation, is lost and people become alienated from each other.

The consumer industry totally administers the empirical life world. Authenticity, thusly, is lost...

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UmbralAdam t1_ivay2tx wrote

Intentionally harming others is ubiquitously considered bad by any moral framework worth its salt. So, though there might not be an objective yardstick, we have a certain metaphysical inkling of right and wrong.

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