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Annals

Perspectives on the Self

Edited by Edited by Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences
Perspectives on the Self

Published: October 2011

Volume 1234

Reflections on the self and selfhood---ideas central to the human condition and predicament.
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The perdurable question, “Who am I?” points to a deeply rooted need within us to understand the basis for the experience of unitary consciousness known as the self. Today, the word “self” has come to refer to a host of intersecting ideas, questions, concerns, and problems that are central to the human condition and predicament. At the same time, our fundamental experience of selfhood has inevitably led to the pursuit of the related but equally enigmatic question of “What is the Self?” The New York Academy of Sciences, in partnership with the Nour Foundation, presented a six-part series of public events examining the question “What is the Self?” from December 2010 through May 2011. Perspectives on the Self: Conversations on Identity and Consciousness brought together experts from the sciences and humanities to provide an objective overview of the evolving notion, construct, and experience of the self, without losing sight of the subjective value that makes these matters so integral to each of us.