According to legend, inscribed on walls of the temple on the sacred site of Delphi in Ancient Greece were two premier injunctions: NOTHING IN EXCESS, and KNOW THYSELF. This course will be an examination of the latter injunction in an effort to discover what self-knowledge is, why it might be valuable, and what, if any, limitations it might face. What is missing from a person lacking in self-knowledge that makes her less wise, virtuous, or competent in certain areas than others who have this capacity, and what if anything might she do to fill that gap? Historical sources as well as recent research in philosophy, experimental social psychology, and neuroscience will inform our investigation, in the course of which we will become students of our own dreams, and cultivate some meditative practices.
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Know Thyself - The Value and Limits of Self-Knowledge: The Examined Life
The University of EdinburghAbout this Course
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Syllabus - What you will learn from this course
Getting started
Socrates and the Examined Life
Descartes' Essence
A re-casting of the Mind/Body problem
MIND AND SELF: Some Aspects of Human Nature
Final assessment
Reviews
- 5 stars73%
- 4 stars21.16%
- 3 stars3.88%
- 2 stars0.97%
- 1 star0.97%
TOP REVIEWS FROM KNOW THYSELF - THE VALUE AND LIMITS OF SELF-KNOWLEDGE: THE EXAMINED LIFE
Very interesting course and very inspirational.
The Tutor is very serious, charming and convincing, even inspiring.
I can only recommend.
This course was fairly difficult requiring some effort, but it was worthwhile to gain a basic knowledge of western philosophy.
A really good course about different philosophical ideas from several philosophers about the examination of life. The teaching technique is really good and easy to understand.
This was incredibly fun and relatively easy to follow. The additional readings were also helpful in painting a better picture of the topics. Very recommended!
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