Strangers to Ourselves

Name: Strangers to Ourselves
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SKU: 9780674013827
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Discovering the Adaptive Unconscious

By Timothy D. Wilson

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Summary

Strangers to Ourselves explores the nature of self-knowledge through the lens of contemporary psychological science. Timothy D. Wilson reveals a sophisticated adaptive unconscious that influences our decisions, feelings, and goals beyond our introspective awareness. Challenging traditional views, the book argues that knowing ourselves requires looking beyond introspection, recognising that our conscious self-stories may differ from our true motives and potential. Wilson offers a revolutionary perspective on the unconscious, showing its profound impact on daily life and personal understanding.
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Format: Paperback / softback

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Strangers to Ourselves

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Book Hero Magic created this recommendation. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! IS THIS YOUR NEXT READ?

This book is ideal for readers interested in philosophy, psychology, and the science of self-awareness. It suits those curious about the unconscious mind and how empirical research reshapes our understanding of human behaviour and identity.

“Know thyself,” a precept as old as Socrates, is still good advice. But is introspection the best path to self-knowledge? Wilson makes the case for better ways of discovering our unconscious selves. If you want to know who you are, he advises, pay attention to what you actually do and what other people think about you.

Strangers to Ourselves is a rare combination of lucid prose, penetrating insight, and cutting-edge research. Wilson uses modern science to examine a problem that has troubled philosophers for millennia--how and how well can we know ourselves?--and concludes that people rarely know the causes of their own behavior. Anyone who still believes that they know what they want, feel, or think, should read this fascinating book, which is sure to stimulate research in laboratories and debate around water-coolers for decades to come. -- Daniel Gilbert, Professor of Psychology, Harvard University Timothy Wilson tackles one of the central questions in psychology: can we truly know ourselves? Drawing on a career of thoughtful research, Wilson takes the reader on a fascinating journey through a wonderland of studies and ideas in contemporary psychology, with side trips into anthropology, medicine, and philosophy. STRANGERS TO OURSELVES is a book of great breadth and depth that will captivate anyone with an interest in consciousness, self-knowledge, and the very essence of being human. -- James W. Pennebaker, author of Opening Up: The Healing Power of Expressing Emotions Tim Wilson's book covers many diverse areas of psychology in a very accessible style, with compelling examples from life and literature, to make a radical argument: that for the most part we have very little real understanding of how we work, or why we do even the most ordinary things. This is a very original and provocative work--and lots of fun to read, too! -- John Bargh, Jules Silver Professor of Psychology, New York University

Description

Know thyself, a precept as old as Socrates, is still good advice. But is introspection the best path to self-knowledge? What are we trying to discover, anyway?

In an eye-opening tour of the unconscious, as contemporary psychological science has redefined it, Timothy D. Wilson introduces us to a hidden mental world of judgments, feelings, and motives that introspection may never show us.

This is not your psychoanalyst's unconscious. The adaptive unconscious that empirical psychology has revealed, and that Wilson describes, is much more than a repository of primitive drives and conflict-ridden memories. It is a set of pervasive, sophisticated mental processes that size up our worlds, set goals, and initiate action, all while we are consciously thinking about something else.

If we don't know ourselves—our potentials, feelings, or motives—it is most often, Wilson tells us, because we have developed a plausible story about ourselves that is out of touch with our adaptive unconscious. Citing evidence that too much introspection can actually do damage, Wilson makes the case for better ways of discovering our unconscious selves.

If you want to know who you are or what you feel or what you're like, Wilson advises, pay attention to what you actually do and what other people think about you. Showing us an unconscious more powerful than Freud's, and even more pervasive in our daily life, Strangers to Ourselves marks a revolution in how we know ourselves.

Book Details

INFORMATION

ISBN: 9780674013827

Publisher: Harvard University Press

Format: Paperback / softback

Date Published: 15 May 2004

Country: United States

Imprint: The Belknap Press

Illustration: 1 table

Audience: Professional and scholarly

DIMENSIONS

Spine width: 17.0mm

Width: 140.0mm

Height: 210.0mm

Weight: 318g

Pages: 272

Collections

Education & Reference Non-Fiction Philosophy & Psychology Timothy D. Wilson

About the Author

Timothy D. Wilson is Sherrell J. Aston Professor of Psychology at the University of Virginia.