self-knowledge – On the Human http://nationalhumanitiescenter.org/on-the-human a project of the National Humanities Center Thu, 14 Sep 2017 16:39:50 +0000 en-US hourly 1 Knowledge of our own thoughts is just as interpretive as knowledge of the thoughts of others http://nationalhumanitiescenter.org/on-the-human/2011/10/knowledge-of-our-own-thoughts/ http://nationalhumanitiescenter.org/on-the-human/2011/10/knowledge-of-our-own-thoughts/#comments Mon, 31 Oct 2011 13:40:37 +0000 http://nationalhumanitiescenter.org/on-the-human/?p=2894 Philosophers have traditionally assumed that knowledge of our own thoughts is special. Descartes famously believed that knowledge of our current thoughts is infallible. He also believed that those thoughts themselves are self-presenting, so that whenever one entertains a thought, one is capable of infallible knowledge of it. Many figures in the history of philosophy have

Continue reading Knowledge of our own thoughts is just as interpretive as knowledge of the thoughts of others

]]> http://nationalhumanitiescenter.org/on-the-human/2011/10/knowledge-of-our-own-thoughts/feed/ 14 Doing, Feeling, Meaning and Explaining http://nationalhumanitiescenter.org/on-the-human/2011/04/doing-feeling-meaning-explaining/ http://nationalhumanitiescenter.org/on-the-human/2011/04/doing-feeling-meaning-explaining/#comments Sun, 17 Apr 2011 19:41:28 +0000 http://nationalhumanitiescenter.org/on-the-human/?p=2235 Continue reading Doing, Feeling, Meaning and Explaining

]]> http://nationalhumanitiescenter.org/on-the-human/2011/04/doing-feeling-meaning-explaining/feed/ 32 Human Language—Human Consciousness http://nationalhumanitiescenter.org/on-the-human/2011/01/human-language-human-consciousness/ http://nationalhumanitiescenter.org/on-the-human/2011/01/human-language-human-consciousness/#comments Mon, 03 Jan 2011 03:58:34 +0000 http://nationalhumanitiescenter.org/on-the-human/?p=1904 Continue reading Human Language—Human Consciousness

]]> http://nationalhumanitiescenter.org/on-the-human/2011/01/human-language-human-consciousness/feed/ 19 Bright Spots and Blind Spots in Self-Knowledge http://nationalhumanitiescenter.org/on-the-human/2010/09/bright-spots-and-blind-spots/ http://nationalhumanitiescenter.org/on-the-human/2010/09/bright-spots-and-blind-spots/#comments Mon, 06 Sep 2010 01:32:02 +0000 http://nationalhumanitiescenter.org/on-the-human/?p=1313 Self-insight is often considered one of the most distinctive aspects of human experience. While other species can recognize themselves in the mirror or have a rudimentary sense of self, the human capacity for self-insight and self-reflection is what makes our species unique. However, this capacity has many, often hilarious, limits. We all have some version

Continue reading Bright Spots and Blind Spots in Self-Knowledge

]]> http://nationalhumanitiescenter.org/on-the-human/2010/09/bright-spots-and-blind-spots/feed/ 9