Who am I? Beyond "I think, therefore I am." Oct 11, 2011 By Timothy WilsonA. VoorhoeveE. DuringD. JoplingF. Kamm Who am I? Beyond "I think, therefore I am." Can we ever truly answer the question, “Who am I?” Moderated by Alex Voorhoeve (London School of Economics), neuro-philosopher Elie During (University of Paris, Ouest Nanterre), cognitive scientist David Jopling (York University, Canada), social psychologist Timothy Wilson (University of Virginia), and ethicist Frances Kamm (Harvard University) examine the difficulty of achieving genuine self-knowledge and how the pursuit of self-knowledge plays a role in shaping the self. Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences Timothy Wilson Timothy Wilson is a professor of psychology and public policy at the Frank Batten School of Leadership and Public Policy and the Sherrell J Aston Professor of Psychology at the University of Virginia. Wilson has conducted research showing the limits of introspection as a source of self-knowledge, the dangers of engaging in too much introspection about why we do what we do, the difficulty in predicting our future emotional reactions, as well as the pleasures we can derive from “just thinking.” He has also conducted research on applications of social psychology to address social problems. Read full bio A. Voorhoeve E. During D. Jopling F. Kamm Related Content Timothy Wilson Redirect: The Surprising New Science of Psychological Change Research What if there were a magic pill that could make you happier, turn you into a better parent, solve a number of your teenager’s behavior problems, reduce racial prejudice, and close the achievement gap in education? Well, there is no such magic pill-but there is a new scientifically based approach called story editing that can accomplish all of this. Winners love winning and losers love money. Research Salience and satisfaction are important factors in determining the comparisons that people make. We hypothesized that people make salient comparisons first, and then make satisfying comparisons only if salient comparisons leave them unsatisfied.
Timothy Wilson Timothy Wilson is a professor of psychology and public policy at the Frank Batten School of Leadership and Public Policy and the Sherrell J Aston Professor of Psychology at the University of Virginia. Wilson has conducted research showing the limits of introspection as a source of self-knowledge, the dangers of engaging in too much introspection about why we do what we do, the difficulty in predicting our future emotional reactions, as well as the pleasures we can derive from “just thinking.” He has also conducted research on applications of social psychology to address social problems. Read full bio
Redirect: The Surprising New Science of Psychological Change Research What if there were a magic pill that could make you happier, turn you into a better parent, solve a number of your teenager’s behavior problems, reduce racial prejudice, and close the achievement gap in education? Well, there is no such magic pill-but there is a new scientifically based approach called story editing that can accomplish all of this.
Winners love winning and losers love money. Research Salience and satisfaction are important factors in determining the comparisons that people make. We hypothesized that people make salient comparisons first, and then make satisfying comparisons only if salient comparisons leave them unsatisfied.