The theme of authentic existence is common to many existentialist thinkers. It is often taken to mean that one has to
"find oneself" and then live in accordance with this self.
What is meant by authenticity is that in acting, one should act as oneself, not as One acts or as one's genes or any
other essence requires. The authentic act is one that is in accordance with one's freedom. Of course, as a condition of
freedom is facticity, this includes one's facticity, but not to the degree that this facticity can in any way determine
one's choices (in the sense that one could then blame one's background for making the choice one made). The role of
facticity in relation to authenticity involves letting one's actual values come into play when one makes a choice
(instead of, like Kierkegaard's Aesthete, "choosing" randomly), so that one also takes responsibility for the act
instead of choosing either-or without allowing the options to have different values.
In contrast to this, the inauthentic is the denial to live in accordance with one's freedom. This can take many forms,
from pretending choices are meaningless or random, through convincing oneself that some form of determinism is
true, to a sort of "mimicry" where one acts as "One should." How "One" should act is often determined by an image
one has of how one such as oneself (say, a bank manager, lion tamer, prostitute, etc.) acts. This image usually
corresponds to some sort of social norm, but this does not mean that all acting in accordance with social norms is
inauthentic: The main point is the attitude one takes to one's own freedom and responsibility, and the extent to which
one acts in accordance with this freedom
