Humanity’s wisest thinkers generally agree that “know thyself” is the best advice you can live by, but they don’t agree on how we’re supposed to do this. Most don’t even tell us what the self actually is. Drawing on a range of sources, ancient and modern, Eastern and Western, this talk examines how we might actually think about the self and where self-study might fit within the contemporary academy.
Eric Oliver is Professor of Political Science at the University of Chicago studies American politics, public opinion, political psychology, local politics, racial attitudes, and self knowledge. His recent research examines why people believe in conspiracy theories, why liberals and conservatives name their children differently, why 2016 was a populist election, and why America’s democracy is under stress. He is currently working on a new book called Nine Questions and recently launched the pod cast nine-questions.com where he interviews people on how they know themselves.
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