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.