Fung Scholars Crossroads – 追尋自我還是放縱自我-Charles Taylor 對本真性的反思

Inaugural Sharing Session — Fung Scholars Crossroads (Hong Kong Chapter)

Crossroad Details

Date: 25 July 2026 (Saturday)
Time: 2:00 PM – 3:30 PM (networking session to follow, refreshments provided)
Medium: Cantonese
Venue: Explorium, 1/F, LiFung Tower, 868 Cheung Sha Wan Road, Hong Kong

Speaker

Herman Tsui (FS 2018/19, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University)
Master of Arts (MA) degree in Philosophy
Herman holds a Master of Arts (MA) in Philosophy from the Chinese University of Hong Kong (CUHK), where he is currently pursuing an MPhil in Philosophy. Through his academic studies, Herman has developed a conviction that many commonly held beliefs warrant further critical reflection and adjustment. Since completing his MA in 2024, he has been actively facilitating online reading groups on a local platform and hosting occasional face-to-face sharing sessions to further these philosophical inquiries.

Herman擁有香港中文大學哲學文學碩士（MA）學位，目前為該校哲學系哲學碩士（MPhil）研究生。在機緣巧合接觸哲學後，發覺日常生活的許多定見都有反思與修正的餘地；因此，自2024年碩士畢業後，開始在香港某網上平台舉辦讀書會，並偶爾進行線下實體分享。

About the Talk

Authenticity is the defining ideal of the modern age. We believe that only by discovering our authentic selves, and living according to that truth, can we avoid becoming wantons manipulated by the wills of others. Some might even quit their decent jobs to travel to Africa in search of their true selves. Under the widespread belief that self-actualization should never be constrained by social norms—that any lifestyle is valid as long as it causes no harm. If someone aspires to be an artist, then she should go for it.
But are all ways of life truly worth pursuing? Imagine a colleague who returns from Africa claiming she has found her true calling: playing on her phone for 14 hours a day. She stays true to her word, dedication hours to the screen. Can we honestly call this ‘self-actualization’? Or is it merely self-indulgence?
The philosopher Charles Taylor argues that this is not authenticity at all; rather, it is self-indulgence masquerading as self-actualization, a mistake that completely defeats its own purpose. Drawing upon Taylor’s The Ethics of Authenticity, this sharing will explore two pivotal questions: (1) What actually constitutes the authentic self, and is it defined solely by personal feelings? (2) Is every path of self-actualization genuinely worth pursuing?

本真性/本己性(authenticity)是現代人共同的追求。唯有找到自己的本真性，並以本真的生活方式活著，我才不是被他人意志支配的行屍走肉，我才作為我活著。為了實現自我，有人怎至放棄高薪厚職到非洲尋覓自我。在現代人眼中，自我實現不應被社會價值觀束縛，只要不傷天害地，任何生活方式都值得追求，如果有人內心熾熱地渴求成為一名藝術家，那就勇敢去做吧。這聽起來很浪漫，但當真生活方式都值得追求嗎？假設你同事去完非洲，他認為自己的天職就是一日碌14個鐘手機，於是就勇敢地不畏風雨每天碌14個鐘手機—這真的能稱作活出真我嗎？還是自我墮落？
哲學家Charles Taylor（查爾斯·泰勒）認為這雖以「做你自己」為名，實際上只是自我放縱（self-indulgence），反而讓遠離真正的自己。本次分享將會以Taylor的The Ethics of Authenticity（《本真性的倫理》）為藍本，探索兩個耐人尋味的的問題:

(1) 怎樣才算是真我，只要我覺得是就是嗎？
(2) 是否任何的自我實現都價得追求？

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* This is a Fung Scholars Only event.