Article

Authenticity without Essence: A Buddhist-Cognitive Critique of the ‘True Self’ in Spiritual Identity

Heather Kempton ORCID

    Received: 21 November 2025 | Revised: 16 January 2026 | Accepted: 24 January 2026 | Published Online: 1 February 2026

    Abstract

    The concept of a ‘true self’ remains central to many contemporary spiritual narratives, often serving as a benchmark for authenticity and personal growth. However, this notion typically rests on essentialist assumptions that are increasingly challenged by both Buddhist philosophy and cognitive science. Drawing on the Buddhist doctrine of anattā (non-self) and empirical research on the constructed nature of identity, this article critiques the metaphysical idea of a stable, discoverable self. It argues that authenticity is better understood as a dynamic, relational, and ethically responsive process rather than a return to an inner essence. Through comparative analysis of Western philosophical models, postmodern critiques, and cognitive psychology, the paper demonstrates how identity is shaped by impermanence, interdependence, and contextual factors, and how essentialist assumptions persist despite substantial philosophic and scientific challenges. The article proposes a Buddhist-Cognitive (realist) model of authenticity grounded in impermanence, interdependence, and ethical engagement, extending the original critique by showing how descriptive findings from cognitive science can inform normative claims about spiritual practice and psychological well-being. This model reframes authenticity as a practice of ethical engagement and psychological coherence within a fluid and evolving self-system. By rejecting metaphysical permanence and embracing relational emergence, the article contributes to a pluralistic understanding of authenticity that is both philosophically rigorous and practically applicable in contemporary spiritual and psychological discourse.

    Keywords

    Authenticity, Buddhist-Cognitive Mode, Cognitive Science, Essentialism, Identity, Non-Essentialism, Non-Self (Anattā), Processual Selfhood

    References
    1. [1] Leuenberger, M., 2021. What Is the Point of Being Your True Self? A Genealogy of Essentialist Authenticity. Philosophy. 96(3), 409–431. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/S0031819121000012
    2. [2] Greenhalgh, J., Manzano, A., 2022. Understanding ‘Context’ in Realist Evaluation and Synthesis. International Journal of Social Research Methodology. 25(5), 583–595. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/13645579.2021.1918484
    3. [3] Setwong, S., 2025. The Concept of Anatta (Non-Self) and Its Implications for Contemporary Identity and Philosophy. Journal of Ethics and Identity in Modernity. 2(1), 14–24. Available from: https://so19.tci-thaijo.org/index.php/JEIM/article/download/1300/930/10135
    4. [4] Nāgārjuna, 2005. Nagarjuna's Letter to a Friend: With Commentary by Kangyur Rinpoche. Snow Lion Publications: Ithaca, NY, USA.
    5. [5] Duerlinger, J., 2009. Vasubandhu’s Abhidharmakosa: The Critique of the Pudgalavādins’ Theory of Persons. In: Edelglass, W., Garfield, J.L. (Eds.). Buddhist Philosophy: Essential Readings. Oxford University Press: New York, NY, USA. pp. 286–296. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1093/oso/9780195328165.003.0026
    6. [6] Goodman, C., 2009. Vasubandhu’s Abhidharmakosa: The Critique of the Soul. In: Edelglass, W., Garfield, J.L. (Eds.). Buddhist Philosophy: Essential Readings. Oxford University Press: New York, NY, USA. pp. 297–308. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1093/oso/9780195328165.003.0027
    7. [7] Chandrakirti, 2005. Introduction to the Middle Way: Chandrakirti’s Madhyamakavatara with Commentary by Jamgön Mipham. Shambhala Publications: Boston, MA, USA.
    8. [8] Gyamtso Rinpoche, K.T., 2001. Progressive Stages of Meditation on Emptiness. Zhyisil Chokyi Ghatsul: Auckland, New Zealand.
    9. [9] Rhys Davids, T.W., 1900. The Questions of King Milinda. Clarendon Press: Oxford, UK. p. 43.
    10. [10] Asaṅga, 2003. The Summary of the Great Vehicle: Translated from the Chinese of Paramårtha (Taishø Volume 31, Number 1593), 2nd ed. Keenan, J.P. (Trans.). Numata Center for Buddhist Translation and Research: Berkeley, CA, USA. Available from: https://www.bdk.or.jp/document/dgtl-dl/dBET_T1593_GreatVehicleSummary_2003.pdf
    11. [11] Kochumuttom, T.A., 1982. A Buddhist Doctrine of Experience: A New Translation and Interpretation of the Works of Vasubandhu the Yogācārin. Motilal Banarsidass: Delhi, India.
    12. [12] Bhāviveka, 2008. Bhāviveka and His Buddhist Opponents: Chapters 4 and 5 of Bhāviveka's Madhyamakahṛdayakārikaḥ with Tarkajvālā Commentary. Eckel, M.D. (Trans.). Harvard University Press: Cambridge, MA, USA. Available from: https://searchworks.stanford.edu/view/7928478
    13. [13] Ruegg, D.S., 1981. The Literature of the Madhyamaka School of Philosophy in India. Otto Harrassowitz: Wiesbaden, Germany.
    14. [14] Candrakīrti, 2002. Madhyamakāvatāra: Introduction to the Middle Way. Shambhala Publications: Boston, MA, USA.
    15. [15] Garfield, J.L., 1995. The Fundamental Wisdom of the Middle Way: Nāgārjuna’s Mūlamadhyamakakārikā. Garfield, J.L. (Trans.). Oxford University Press: Oxford, UK.
    16. [16] Dolpopa, Sherab Gyaltsen, 2006. Mountain Doctrine: Tibet’s Fundamental Treatise on Other-Emptiness and the Buddha-Matrix. Snow Lion Publications: Ithaca, NY, USA.
    17. [17] Hookham, S.K., 1991. The Buddha within: Tathagatagarbha Doctrine According to the Shentong Interpretation of the Ratnagotravibhaga. State University of New York Press: Albany, NY, USA.
    18. [18] Hume, D., 2000. A Treatise of Human Nature. Norton, D.F., Norton, M.J. (Eds.). Oxford University Press: Oxford, UK.
    19. [19] Quintelier, K.J.P., Zijlstra, L., 2014. How (Not) to Argue about Is/Ought Inferences in the Cognitive Sciences. Frontiers in Psychology. 5, 503. DOI: https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2014.00503
    20. [20] Hariyanto, 2025. Buddhist Epistemology and Critical Thinking: Ethical, Cognitive, and Pedagogical Insights for Interdisciplinary Education. Human Arenas. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s42087-025-00508-8
    21. [21] Kállai, J., Kincses, P., Lábadi, B., et al., 2017. Multisensory Integration and Age-Dependent Sensitivity to Body Representation Modification Induced by the Rubber Hand Illusion. Cognitive Processing. 18, 349–357. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10339-017-0827-4
    22. [22] Wen, T., Mitchell, D.J., Duncan, J., 2020. The Functional Convergence and Heterogeneity of Social, Episodic, and Self-Referential Thought in the Default Mode Network. Cerebral Cortex. 30(11), 5915–5929. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1093/cercor/bhaa166
    23. [23] Mak, L.E., Minuzzi, L., MacQueen, G., et al., 2017. The Default Mode Network in Healthy Individuals: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis. Brain Connectivity. 7(1), 25–33. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1089/brain.2016.0438
    24. [24] Treves, I.N., Greene, K.D., Bajwa, Z., et al., 2024. Mindfulness-Based Neurofeedback: A Systematic Review of EEG and fMRI Studies. Imaging Neuroscience. 2, imag–2–00396. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1162/imag_a_00396
    25. [25] Zhang, M., Bernhardt, B.C., Wang, X., et al., 2022. Perceptual Coupling and Decoupling of the Default Mode Network during Mind-Wandering and Reading. eLife. 11, e74011. DOI: https://doi.org/10.7554/eLife.74011
    26. [26] Menon, V., 2023. 20 Years of the Default Mode Network: A Review and Synthesis. Neuron. 111(16), 2469–2487. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.neuron.2023.04.023
    27. [27] Zagkas, D., Bacopoulou, F., Vlachakis, D., et al., 2023. How Does Meditation Affect the Default Mode Network: A Systematic Review. In: Vlamos, P. (Ed.). Advances in Experimental Medicine and Biology. Springer: Cham, Switzerland. pp. 229–245. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-31986-0_22
    28. [28] Shen, Y.-Q., Zhou, H.-X., Chen, X., et al., 2020. Meditation Effect in Changing Functional Integrations Across Large-Scale Brain Networks: Preliminary Evidence from a Meta-Analysis. Journal of Pacific Rim Psychology. 14. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/prp.2020.1
    29. [29] Calderone, A., Latella, D., Impellizzeri, F., et al., 2024. Neurobiological Changes Induced by Mindfulness and Meditation: A Systematic Review. Biomedicines. 12(11), 2613. DOI: https://doi.org/10.3390/biomedicines12112613
    30. [30] Millidge, B., Tschantz, A., Buckley, C.L., 2022. Predictive Coding Approximates Backprop along Arbitrary Computation Graphs. Neural Computation. 34(6), 1329–1368. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1162/neco_a_01497
    31. [31] Gallagher, S., 2015. Relations between Agency and Ownership in the Case of Schizophrenic Thought Insertion and Delusions of Control. Review of Philosophy and Psychology. 6(4), 865–879. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s13164-014-0222-3
    32. [32] Saxe, R., Moran, J.M., Scholz, J., et al., 2006. Overlapping and Non-Overlapping Brain Regions for Theory of Mind and Self-Reflection in Individual Subjects. Social Cognitive and Affective Neuroscience. 1(3), 229–234. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1093/scan/nsl034
    33. [33] Gkintoni, E., Vassilopoulos, S.P., Nikolaou, G., 2025. Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy in Clinical Practice: A Systematic Review of Neurocognitive Outcomes and Applications for Mental Health and Well-Being. Journal of Clinical Medicine. 14(5), 1703. DOI: https://doi.org/10.3390/jcm14051703
    34. [34] Markus, H.R., Kitayama, S., 1991. Culture and the Self: Implications for Cognition, Emotion, and Motivation. Psychological Review. 98(2), 224–253. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1037/0033-295X.98.2.224
    35. [35] Demnitz-King, H., Requier, F., Whitfield, T., 2023. Effects of Meditation Training and Non-Native Language Training on Cognition in Older Adults: A Secondary Analysis of an RCT. JAMA Network Open. 6(7), e2317848. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2023.17848
    36. [36] Kernis, M.H., Goldman, B.M., 2006. A Multicomponent Conceptualization of Authenticity: Theory and Research. Advances in Experimental Social Psychology. 38, 283–357. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/S0065-2601(06)38006-9
    37. [37] Christy, A.G., Schlegel, R.J., Cimpian, A., 2019. Why Do People Believe in a “True Self”? The Role of Essentialist Reasoning about Personal Identity and the Self. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology. 117(2), 386–416. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1037/pspp0000254
    38. [38] Schlegel, R.J., Hicks, J.A., 2011. The True Self and Psychological Health: Emerging Evidence and Future Directions. Social and Personality Psychology Compass. 5(12), 989–1003. Available from: https://existentialpsych.sites.tamu.edu/wp-content/uploads/sites/152/2016/08/SchlegelHicks2011Compass.pdf
    39. [39] Bialystok, L., 2014. Authenticity and the Limits of Philosophy. Dialogue: Canadian Philosophical Review. 53(2), 271–298. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/S001221731300111X
    40. [40] Stepien, R.K., 2021. Substantialism, Essentialism, Emptiness: Buddhist Critiques of Ontology. Journal of Indian Philosophy. 49, 871–893. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/S10781-021-09483-0
    41. [41] Nāgārjuna, 2013. Nāgārjuna’s Middle Way: Mūlamadhyamakakārikā. Siderits, M., Katsura, S. (Trans.). Wisdom Publications: Somerville, MA, USA. Available from: https://wisdomexperience.org/product/nagarjunas-middle-way/
    42. [42] Plato, 1997. The Republic. Jowett, B. (Trans.). Dover Publications: Mineola, NY, USA.
    43. [43] Gerson, L.P., 2006. Divided Persons: Republic and Phaedrus. In Knowing Persons: A Study in Plato. Oxford University Press: Oxford, UK. pp. 99–147. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199288670.003.0004
    44. [44] Cary, P., 2008. Inner Grace: Augustine in the Traditions of Plato and Paul. Oxford University Press: Oxford, UK.
    45. [45] Bouton-Touboulic, A.-I., 2023. Augustine’s Reception of Platonism. In: Garani, M., Konstan, D., Reydams-Schils, G. (Eds.). The Oxford Handbook of Roman Philosophy. Oxford University Press: Oxford, UK.
    46. [46] Gurtler, G.M., 2015. Reason, Faith and Otherness in Neoplatonic and Early Christian Thought, Written by Kevin Corrigan. The International Journal of the Platonic Tradition. 9(2), 257–260. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1163/18725473-12341326
    47. [47] Edwards, M., 2021. The Bible and Early Christian Platonism. In: Hampton, A.J.B., Kenney, J.P. (Eds.). Christian Platonism: A History. Cambridge University Press: Cambridge, UK. pp. 143–161. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/9781108590341.008
    48. [48] Biemiller, M., 2019. Augustine and Plato: Clarifying Misconceptions. Aporia. 29(2), 33–43. Available from: https://aporia.byu.edu/pdfs/biemiller-augustine_and_plato.pdf
    49. [49] Dicker, G., 2013. Meditation II: The Cogito and the Self. In Descartes: An Analytic and Historical Introduction. Oxford University Press: Oxford, UK. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1093/acprof:osobl/9780195380323.003.0002
    50. [50] Secada, J., 2000. Descartes’s Essentialist Metaphysics. In Cartesian Metaphysics: The Scholastic Origins of Modern Philosophy. Cambridge University Press: Cambridge, UK. pp. 7–26. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/CBO9780511487309.003
    51. [51] Wagner, S.I., 1984. Descartes’ Cogito: A Generative View. History of Philosophy Quarterly. 1(2), 167–180. Available from: https://www.jstor.org/stable/27743676
    52. [52] Rousseau, J.-J., 2004. Discourse on the Origin of Inequality. Dover Publications: Mineola, NY, USA.
    53. [53] Scott, J.T., 1994. Politics as the Imitation of the Divine in Rousseau's Social Contract. Polity. 26(3), 473–501. Available from: https://www.jstor.org/stable/3235155
    54. [54] Cohen, J., 2010. The Natural Goodness of Humanity. In Rousseau: A Free Community of Equals. Oxford University Press: Oxford, UK. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199581498.003.0005
    55. [55] Hall, J.C., 1973. Rousseau: An Introduction to His Political Philosophy. Red Globe Press London: London, UK. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-349-00018-0
    56. [56] Garfield, J.L., 2015. Engaging Buddhism: Why It Matters to Philosophy. Oxford University Press: New York, NY, USA.
    57. [57] Maslow, A.H., 1943. A Theory of Human Motivation. Psychological Review. 50(4), 370–396. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1037/h0054346
    58. [58] Maslow, A.H., 1965. Self-Actualization and Beyond. Center for Study of Liberal Education, University of Boston: Boston, MA, USA.
    59. [59] Schoofs, L.K., Maunz, L.A., Glaser, J., 2024. Multi-level effects of authentic leadership on self-actualization at work – the mediating roles of authentic followership and basic psychological need satisfaction. Current Psychology. 43, 14494–14505. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12144-023-05480-6
    60. [60] Paquet, A., Fenouillet, F., Martin-Krumm, C., et al., 2025. Authentic and Non-authentic Benevolence: Self-Determination Theory as a Framework to Establish Links to Well-Being. Social Indicators Research. 178, 163–184. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11205-025-03569-y
    61. [61] Ismail, N.A.H., Tekke, M., 2015. Rediscovering Rogers’s Self Theory and Personality. Journal of Educational Health and Community Psychology. 4(3), 28–36. Available from: https://www.researchgate.net/publication/286456614
    62. [62] Joseph, S., 2025. The Humanistic Psychology of Carl Rogers: Understanding the Person-Centered Approach. Oxford University Press: New York, NY, USA.
    63. [63] Rogers, C.R., 1963. Actualizing Tendency in Relation to "Motives" and to Consciousness. In: Jones, M.R. (Ed.). Nebraska Symposium on Motivation. University of Nebraska Press: Lincoln, NE, USA. pp. 1–24.
    64. [64] Ryan, R.M., Rigby, C.S., 2015. Did the Buddha Have a Self?: No-Self, Self, and Mindfulness in Buddhist Thought and Western Psychologies. In: Brown, K.W., Creswell, J.D., Ryan, R.M. (Eds.). Handbook of Mindfulness: Theory, Research, and Practice. Guilford Press: New York, NY, USA. pp. 245–265.
    65. [65] Runge, R.F., 2024. Neo-Aristotelian Naturalism as a Metaethical Route to Virtue-Ethical Longtermism. Moral Philosophy and Politics. Moral Philosophy and Politics. 12(1), 7–32. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1515/mopp-2023-0089
    66. [66] Gowans, C.W., 2008. Virtue and Nature. Social Philosophy and Policy. 25(1), 28–55. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/S0265052508080023
    67. [67] Bertocci, P.A., 1983. The Personalism of Edgar S. Brightman and Ultimate Reality. Ultimate Reality and Meaning. 6(1), 32–53. DOI: https://doi.org/10.3138/uram.6.1.32
    68. [68] Yong, A., 1995. From Pietism to Pluralism: Boston Personalism and the Liberal Era in American Methodist Theology, 1876–1953 [Master’s Thesis]. Portland State University: Portland, OR, USA. Available from: https://pdxscholar.library.pdx.edu/open_access_etds/3089/
    69. [69] Rupert, R.D., 2022. Cognitive Systems, Predictive Processing, and the Self. Review of Philosophy and Psychology. 13, 947–972. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s13164-021-00577-y
    70. [70] Kierkegaard, S., 1995. Works of Love. Hong, H.V., Hong, E.H. (Trans.). Princeton University Press: Princeton, NJ, USA.
    71. [71] Kierkegaard, S., 1989. The Sickness unto Death. Hannay, A. (Trans.). Penguin Classics: London, UK.
    72. [72] Valco, M., 2016. Kierkegaard’s Sickness unto Death as a Resource in Our Search for Personal Authenticity. European Journal of Science and Theology. 12(1), 97–105. Available from: https://ejst.tuiasi.ro/Files/56/8_Valco.pdf
    73. [73] Wisdo, D., 2017. The Self: Kierkegaard and Buddhism in Dialogue. Comparative Philosophy. 8(2), 9. DOI: https://doi.org/10.31979/2151-6014(2017).080209
    74. [74] Li, E., 2019. Kierkegaard’s Existential Conception of the Relationship between Philosophy and Christianity. Open Theology. 5(1), 136–146. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1515/opth-2019-0010
    75. [75] Bernier, M., 2015. The Kierkegaardian Self. In The Task of Hope in Kierkegaard. Oxford University Press: Oxford, UK. pp. 9–34. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1093/acprof:oso/9780198747888.003.0002
    76. [76] Austin, M.W., 2015. Kierkegaard: Understanding the Christian Father of Existentialism. Available from: https://www.equip.org/articles/kierkegaard-understanding-the-christian-father-of-existentialism/ (cited 30 August 2024).
    77. [77] Kupś, T., 2022. Kierkegaard on Descartes: Doubt as a Prefiguration of Existential Despair. Roczniki Filozoficzne. 70(2), 23–24. Available from: https://www.jstor.org/stable/27150133
    78. [78] Kant, I., 1998. Critique of Pure Reason. Guyer, P., Wood, A.W. (Trans.). Cambridge University Press: Cambridge, UK.
    79. [79] O’Hagan, E., 2018. Anattā and Ethics: Kantian and Buddhist Themes. In: Davis, G. (Ed.). Ethics without Self, Dharma without Atman. Springer: Cham, Switzerland. pp. 145–159. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-67407-0_7
    80. [80] Marshall, C., 2010. Kant’s Metaphysics of the Self. Philosophers’ Imprint. 10(8). Available from: https://quod.lib.umich.edu/cgi/p/pod/dod-idx/kant-s-metaphysics-of-the-self.pdf?c=phimp;idno=3521354.0010.008;format=pdf
    81. [81] Ameriks, K., 2000. Kant’s Theory of Mind: An Analysis of the Paralogisms of Pure Reason. Oxford University Press: Oxford, UK.
    82. [82] Brook, A., Wuerth, J. 2020. Kant’s View of the Mind and Consciousness of Self. Available from: https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/kant-mind/ (cited 5 September 2025).
    83. [83] Locke, J., 1998. An Essay Concerning Human Understanding. Woolhouse, R. (Ed.). Penguin Classics: London, UK; New York, NY, USA.
    84. [84] Schechtman, M., 2014. Locke and the Psychological Continuity Theorists. In Staying Alive: Personal Identity, Practical Concerns, and the Unity of a Life. Oxford University Press: Oxford, UK. pp. 10–42. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199684878.003.0002
    85. [85] Simmons, P.C., 2002. John Locke, Memory, and Narratives of Origin. Lumen. 21, 61–85. DOI: https://doi.org/10.7202/1012268ar
    86. [86] Vance, C.D. (n.d.). Locke on Personal Identity. Available from: https://rintintin.colorado.edu/~vancecd/phil1020/Locke4.pdf (cited 5 September 2025).
    87. [87] Conn, C.H., 2003. Locke’s Critique of Essentialism. In Locke on Essence and Identity. Springer: Dordrecht, The Netherlands. pp. 25–54. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-007-1005-4_2
    88. [88] Freud, S., 1923. The Ego and the Id. Strachey, J. (Trans.). W. W. Norton & Company: New York, NY, USA.
    89. [89] Sandner, D., 2022. The Significance of Freud’s Cultural Theory for the Theory and Practice of Psychoanalysis. In Society and the Unconscious. Springer: Berlin, Heidelberg. pp. 11–20. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-662-66175-8_2
    90. [90] Cratsley, K., 2020. Structural Model. In: Zeigler-Hill, V., Shackelford, T. (Eds.). Encyclopedia of Personality and Individual Differences. Springer: Cham, Switzerland. pp. 5261–5266. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-24612-3_1429
    91. [91] Tauber, A.I., 2015. “The Other” within: Freud’s Representation of the Mind. In: Goodman, D., Freeman, M. (Eds.). Psychology and the Other. Oxford University Press: New York, NY, USA. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199324804.003.0005
    92. [92] Taylor, C., 1991. The Ethics of Authenticity. Harvard University Press: Cambridge, MA, USA.
    93. [93] Peetush, A., 2018. The Ethics of Interconnectedness: Charles Taylor, No-Self, and Buddhism. In: Davis, G.F. (Ed.). Ethics without Self, Dharma without Atman. Springer: Cham, Switzerland. pp. 235–251.
    94. [94] Calhoun, C., 1991. Morality, Identity, and Historical Explanation: Charles Taylor on the Sources of the Self. Sociological Theory. 9(2), 232–263.
    95. [95] Foucault, M., 1975. Discipline and Punish: The Birth of the Prison. Gallimard: Paris, France. (in French)
    96. [96] Butler, J., 1990. Gender Trouble: Feminism and the Subversion of Identity. Routledge: New York, NY, USA.
    97. [97] Derrida, J., 1967. Of Grammatology. Les Éditions de Minuit: Paris, France. (in French)
    98. [98] Mortimer, S.A., 2025. Becoming authentic: A social conception of the self. The Philosophical Quarterly. pqaf008. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1093/pq/pqaf008
    99. [99] Henning, T., 1995. Resisting Ethical Paralysis: A Postmodern Critique of Ethics. Available from: https://eric.ed.gov/?id=ED384038 (cited 5 September 2025).
    100. [100] Orsini, A. 2024. Theory of Postmodernity. In Sociological Theory. Palgrave Macmillan: Cham, Switzerland. pp. 585–617. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-52539-1_14
    101. [101] Miheș, D., 2024. Unraveling the self: How postmodern philosophy reshaped the narrative of personal identity. Studia UBB Philosophia. 69(Special Issue). DOI: https://doi.org/10.24193/subbphil.2024.sp.iss.02
    102. [102] Woodward, A., 2009. Nihilism in Postmodernity: Lyotard, Baudrillard, Vattimo. The Davies Group Publishers: Aurora, CO, USA.
    103. [103] Hicks, S.R.C., 2011. Explaining Postmodernism: Skepticism and Socialism from Rousseau to Foucault, Expanded Edition. Ockham’s Razor Publishing: Roscoe, IL, USA.
    104. [104] Nietzsche, F., 1886. Beyond Good and Evil. C. G. Naumann: Leipzig, Germany. (in German)
    105. [105] Heidegger, M., 1927. Being and Time. Max Niemeyer Verlag: Tübingen, Germany. (in German)
    106. [106] Sartre, J.-P., 1943. Being and Nothingness. Gallimard: Paris, France. (in French)
    107. [107] Ryan, W.S., Ryan, R.M., 2018. Toward a Social Psychology of Authenticity: Exploring Within-Person Variation in Autonomy, Congruence, and Genuineness Using Self-Determination Theory. Review of General Psychology. Available from: https://selfdeterminationtheory.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/2018_RyanRyan_Authenticity.pdf (cited 5 September 2025).
    108. [108] Guay, F., 2021. Applying Self-Determination Theory to Education: Regulation Types, Psychological Needs, and Autonomy Supporting Behaviors. Canadian Journal of School Psychology. 37(1), 75–92. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1177/08295735211055355
    109. [109] Zhou, V.X., 2022. Engaging Non-Essentialism as Lived Wisdom: A Dialogue Between Intercultural Communication and Buddhism. Language and Intercultural Communication. 22(3), 294–311. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/14708477.2022.2046768
    110. [110] Marchi, F., Newen, A., 2022. Self-deception in the predictive mind: Cognitive strategies and a challenge from motivation. Philosophical Psychology. 35(7), 971–990. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/09515089.2021.2019693
    111. [111] Ryan, R.M., Deci, E.L., 2017. Self-Determination Theory: Basic Psychological Needs in Motivation, Development, and Wellness. Guilford Press: New York, NY, USA. Available from: https://psycnet.apa.org/record/2017-04680-000
    112. [112] Steckermeier, L.C., 2021. The Value of Autonomy for the Good Life: An Empirical Investigation of Autonomy and Life Satisfaction in Europe. Social Indicators Research. 154, 693–723. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11205-020-02565-8
    113. [113] Kukita, A., Nakamura, J., Csikszentmihalyi, M., 2022. How Experiencing Autonomy Contributes to a Good Life. The Journal of Positive Psychology. 17(1), 34–45. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/17439760.2020.1818816
    114. [114] Pettigrew, R.N., Cawdor, M., 2024. ‘A Good Death’: One Hospice Chaplain’s Approach to End-of-Life Care. Work, Employment and Society. 38(3), 871–880. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1177/09500170241234592
    115. [115] Pujol, N., Foley, G., Hogan, L., 2025. Towards a Shared and Supported Decision-Making Model: Fostering Relational Autonomy in End-of-Life Care. Medicine, Health Care and Philosophy. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11019-025-10307-1
    116. [116] Kelly, B.D., 2023. Beyond Mindfulness: Buddhist Psychology and the Abhidharma. Journal of Spirituality in Mental Health. 25(1), 71–82. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/19349637.2022.2081952
    117. [117] Venkatesh, S., 2025. The Influence of Buddhist Psychology on Western Therapeutic Practices: Integrating Mindfulness and Cognitive Approaches. Journal of Science Technology and Research. 1(6), 1–15. Available from: https://journalstar.in/the-influence-of-buddhist-psychology-on-western-therapeutic-practices-integrating-mindfulness-and-cognitive-approaches/
    118. [118] Foo, K.-F., Lin, Y.-P., Lin, C.-P., et al., 2024. Fostering relational autonomy in end-of-life care: A procedural approach and three-dimensional decision-making model. Journal of Medical Ethics. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1136/jme-2023-109818
    Back to top