The concept of authenticity emerged in Greek antiquity and referred to the author or originator of certain actions or objects. Over the centuries, meaning shifted away from the author to concerns with the originality or genuineness of the actions or objects themselves. Today the concept is widely used across the western social sciences and humanities, yet there is no single consensus on its conceptual focus or boundaries due to the different epistemologies and ontologies utilized by scholars. As the names imply, realists see authenticity as a real or essential quality of a person, object, or practice, while constructionists view authenticity as something that people create or construct because it serves some pragmatic purpose. Contemporary realist and constructionist scholarship regularly includes studies on the authenticity of the self and individuals' experiences, as well as studies on the authenticity of cultural objects and practices. The concept is important for theorizing various current issues, from self-feelings and the relationship between the individual and society, to the everyday practices through which people attribute significance to the people, objects, and practices around them.