Topic

self-knowledge

6 essays on self-knowledge from the Consilium journal. Featuring Hannah Arendt, Oliver Sacks, Virginia Satir. Each pits three thinkers against one hard question.


Identity

What Do You Do When You Don't Know Who You Are Anymore?

Arendt says identity shows up in action not reflection. Sacks says what you call loss may be a reorganization. Satir says the self is always speaking; learn the language.

Hannah ArendtOliver SacksVirginia Satiridentity crisisself-knowledge

Identity

How Do You Know If You're Growing or Just Running Away?

Three thinkers on growth and escape. James says test it against what actually changes. Dostoevsky says your secret motive is waiting. Horney says the idealized self is the first thing to go.

William JamesFyodor DostoevskyKaren Horneygrowthself-knowledge

Identity

Why Do I Feel Invisible Even Around People Who Love Me?

Three thinkers on feeling unseen. Du Bois names the gap between self and perception. Woolf asks what the people who love you can actually hold. Dickinson says some invisibility is chosen.

W.E.B. Du BoisVirginia WoolfEmily DickinsonIdentityLonelinessSelf-Knowledge

Relationships

How Do You Know If You're in Love or Just Attached?

Three thinkers on love versus attachment. Girard asks if desire spiked when threatened. Austen asks if you see them clearly. Schopenhauer says nature is partly responsible.

Rene GirardJane AustenArthur SchopenhauerAttachmentDesireSelf-Knowledge

Identity

What If I'm Not Who I Think I Am?

Three thinkers on the crisis of self-knowledge. James says you have many selves. Zhuangzi says the self is a dream. Perls says stop performing and just notice.

William JamesZhuangziFritz Perlsself-knowledgeidentity

Relationships

Why Do I Keep Falling for the Same Kind of Person?

You have been here before. Murdoch says your ego is building pictures. Skinner says it is conditioning. Follett asks whether you have tried integration.

Iris MurdochMary Parker FollettB.F. Skinnerpatternsself-knowledge

Related

Arthur Schopenhauer B.F. Skinner Emily Dickinson Fritz Perls Fyodor Dostoevsky Hannah Arendt Iris Murdoch Jane Austen Karen Horney Mary Parker Follett Oliver Sacks Rene Girard Virginia Satir Virginia Woolf W.E.B. Du Bois William James Zhuangzi Attachment Desire Identity Loneliness growth identity identity crisis patterns

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