Talk
Virtues of Self-Knowledge
Tuesday, March 12, 2019, 6:30PM
NYUAD Campus, Conference Center
Past Event
Open to the Public
Inspired by the celebrated aphorism, “Know Thyself!”, which was inscribed on the forecourt at the temple of Apollo at Delphi, Socrates admonished his followers that “the unexamined life is not worth living.” In a similar vein, the Buddha famously urged his disciples to “Be a lamp unto yourself”. What does it mean to take these maxims seriously today, when the natural and mind sciences are the preferred way to obtain knowledge about ourselves? In seeking to answer this question, this talk reflects on the puzzle of self-consciousness, and on what it means to know that one is a knower.
Inspired by the celebrated aphorism, “Know Thyself!”, which was inscribed on the forecourt at the temple of Apollo at Delphi, Socrates admonished his followers that “the unexamined life is not worth living.” In a similar vein, the Buddha famously urged his disciples to “Be a lamp unto yourself”. What does it mean to take these maxims seriously today, when the natural and mind sciences are the preferred way to obtain knowledge about ourselves? In seeking to answer this question, this talk reflects on the puzzle of self-consciousness, and on what it means to know that one is a knower.
- Christian Coseru, Professor of Philosophy, College of Charleston
- NYU Abu Dhabi Institute