Identity and Relation Praxis, Bad Faith, Severed Ties, and Possible African Remedies

• Published in: Theoria (Pietermaritzburg) Vol. 70; no. 3; pp. 65 - 95
• Main Author: Smook, Ettienne
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: New York Berghahn Books, Inc 01-09-2023
• Subjects: Authenticity; Consumer advocacy; Ego; Epistemology; Happiness; Social aspects; United Kingdom
• ISSN: 0040-5817; 1558-5816
• DOI: 10.3167/th.2023.7017603

Sustained dialogue between people and the authenticity of relationships are dependent on the existence of an epistemic distance between the interlocutors--there needs to be a difference between the patterns of thought salient among the subjects involved. A lack thereof must lead to the collapse of the conditions requisite for continued engagement. This is the case because we can only sustain dialogue based on difference of opinion among agents. In short, similar constitutions of the ego must lead to a breakdown in communication. The consumer industry populates the world with objects of a similar ilk and thereby renders the environment homogeneous. The egos constructed under its rule must thus be similar in nature, hence the claim that dialogue must collapse under its rule. However, should we focus on the sundered duties implied by a community, as we intend to do with this article, we may recover the conditions of epistemic distance and thereby also the conditions of sustained and authentic relationships.