Knowing Yourself: How to Understand Personality, Harness Willpower, and Manage Self-Esteem

Join Roy Baumeister, celebrated psychologist and New York Times best-selling author, on a journey to answer the most important questions of our lives: Who am I? What am I? What might I become? In 15 audio lectures, Dr. Baumeister draws from his renowned research to explain the origin, importance, and impact of the human self: the source of our self-esteem, self-control, and decision making, as well as our capacity for self-deception and self-destructive patterns.

The human self—self-aware, enmeshed in meaningful stories, sensitive to morality and reputation, and endlessly self-altering—is what separates humans from other animals. These lectures explore the general truths and patterns of our behavior that have been identified by psychologists, while recognizing that each of us is unique.

Individual lectures address the self’s influence on our personal strengths and weaknesses, and how we can leverage our understanding to fulfill our potential.

After listening to this series, you’ll have a well-rounded understanding of self that is firmly grounded in scientific research. Perhaps most important, you’ll grasp the interpersonal role of the self, which took shape to help us relate to other people and, ultimately, to survive.

This course is part of the Learn25 collection.