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.
ofrecido por
Know Thyself - The Value and Limits of Self-Knowledge: The Examined Life
Universidad de EdimburgoAcerca de este Curso
Resultados profesionales del estudiante
33%
50%
Resultados profesionales del estudiante
33%
50%
ofrecido por
Universidad de Edimburgo
Influencing the world since 1583, The University of Edinburgh is consistently ranked as one of the world's top 50 universities. Today, we are an established and global leader in online learning, providing degree-level education to 3,000 online students in addition to 36,000 students on-campus. We also offer a wide range of free online courses in a variety of subjects. To find out more about studying for one of our online degrees, search for ‘Edinburgh online’ or visit www.ed.ac.uk/studying/online-learning/postgraduate
Programa - Qué aprenderás en este curso
Getting started
Socrates and the Examined Life
At his trial, charged with corrupting the Athenian youth, Socrates isn't exactly apologetic. He tells the jury to their faces that they only charged him because they don't like that he forces them to confront uncomfortable truths. Somewhat unsurprisingly, the jury sentences him to death. Socrates accepts the sentence unfazed, famously stating that he'd rather die than stop making people think, as 'an unexamined life is not worth living'. In this module we will examine this dictum and ask: was Socrates right to throw shade on the unexamimed life?
Descartes' Essence
Are you dreaming right now? How do you know you're not? Rene Descartes set himself a pretty titanic task: to doubt absolutely everything he cannot be certain of - even that the world exists! - and then try to see if we can rebuild our knowledge of ourselves and the world only from what we can be really certain of. In the process, he formulated some provocative thoughts on the radical separation of the mind from the body.
A re-casting of the Mind/Body problem
Descartes' dualistic picture of the mind-body relation was highly influential for centuries. A vocal minority of thinkers challenged dualism, but only in the Twentieth Century did Gilbert Ryle manage to discern how Descartes' dualistic reasoning went wrong. In understanding Ryle's approach, we will also gain an appreciation of how know-how is a legitimate form of knowledge, and of how one way of gaining self-knowledge is by looking outward rather than looking inward.
MIND AND SELF: Some Aspects of Human Nature
Is there such a thing as a human nature? And if there is, how can we know what it is? In this module we will look at how the concept of human nature is used and potentially misused, and what can all this tell us about ourselves. And finally: can human nature be changed?
Final assessment
Revisiones
Principales revisiones sobre KNOW THYSELF - THE VALUE AND LIMITS OF SELF-KNOWLEDGE: THE EXAMINED LIFE
Really in depth and easy to follow information on a great array of topics, philosophers and philosophies. I would highly recommend it to anyone with an interest of learning new knowledge .
This is a well put together course. It is beneficial to borrow or purchase the course textbook. I enjoyed the course instructor and his use of meditation breaks every so often was great.
I learned a lot about what self-knowledge and how it can enhance my life. The lectures and forum discussions were very thought-provoking. The meditative moments were an added bonus!
More visuals and videos to explain the course content would have made teh course more interesting. The videos with just the Porfessor speaking were sometime monotonous.
Preguntas Frecuentes
¿Cuándo podré acceder a las lecciones y tareas?
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¿Qué recibiré si compro el Certificado?
Cuando compras un Certificado, obtienes acceso a todos los materiales del curso, incluidas las tareas calificadas. Una vez que completes el curso, se añadirá tu Certificado electrónico a la página Logros. Desde allí, puedes imprimir tu Certificado o añadirlo a tu perfil de LinkedIn. Si solo quieres leer y visualizar el contenido del curso, puedes participar del curso como oyente sin costo.
¿Cuál es la política de reembolsos?
Puedes solicitar un reembolso completo hasta dos semanas después de tu fecha de pago o (para los cursos que se lanzaron recientemente) hasta dos semanas después del comienzo de la primera sesión del curso, lo que ocurra después. No puedes recibir un reembolso luego de obtener un Certificado de curso, aun cuando completes el curso dentro del período de reembolso de dos semanas. Consulta nuestra política de reembolsos completa.
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