The University of Edinburgh
Know Thyself - The Value and Limits of Self-Knowledge: The Examined Life
The University of Edinburgh

Know Thyself - The Value and Limits of Self-Knowledge: The Examined Life

Taught in English

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62,464 already enrolled

Course

Gain insight into a topic and learn the fundamentals

Mitchell Green

Instructor: Mitchell Green

4.6

(558 reviews)

Beginner level
No prior experience required
18 hours to complete
3 weeks at 6 hours a week
Flexible schedule
Learn at your own pace

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23 quizzes

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There are 6 modules in this course

What's included

4 readings1 discussion prompt

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?

What's included

8 videos6 readings7 quizzes3 discussion prompts

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.

What's included

9 videos7 readings6 quizzes3 discussion prompts

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.

What's included

8 videos7 readings5 quizzes3 discussion prompts

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?

What's included

7 videos8 readings5 quizzes4 discussion prompts

What's included

4 readings1 peer review1 discussion prompt

Instructor

Instructor ratings
4.8 (192 ratings)
Mitchell Green
The University of Edinburgh
2 Courses127,151 learners

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Recommended if you're interested in Philosophy

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