
How To Know Your Self
The Art & Science of Discovering Who You Really Are
J. Eric Oliver(Author)
WW Norton & Co (Publisher)
Will be published approx. on 20. February 2026
Book
Hardback
288 pages
978-1-324-09523-1 (ISBN)
Description
For more than twenty years, University of Chicago professor J. Eric Oliver has taught a legendary course-The Intelligible Self-that students routinely describe as life-changing. Now, in How to Know Your Self, he brings the best of that classroom experience to readers everywhere, guiding us through the most profound and meaningful journey of all: understanding who we really are.
With warmth, wit and an eye for the unexpected, Oliver draws on insights from neuroscience, psychology, physics and ancient philosophy to explore the mystery of the self.
Drawing on decades of teaching, research and personal experience, he offers something deeper than quick fixes or life hacks: How to Know Your Self reveals a transformative new understanding of what it means to be a person-what it means to have and be a "self"-and shows how that insight can fundamentally reshape the way we live this one life we're given.
With warmth, wit and an eye for the unexpected, Oliver draws on insights from neuroscience, psychology, physics and ancient philosophy to explore the mystery of the self.
Drawing on decades of teaching, research and personal experience, he offers something deeper than quick fixes or life hacks: How to Know Your Self reveals a transformative new understanding of what it means to be a person-what it means to have and be a "self"-and shows how that insight can fundamentally reshape the way we live this one life we're given.
Reviews / Votes
"How to Know Your Selfis a refreshingly engaging and honest attempt to grapple with the elusiveness of self-knowledge. Avoiding easy answers and soothing bromides, Oliver brings together insights from many fields to move us closer to the knowledge we both crave and studiously avoid." -- Rebecca Newberger Goldstein, author ofThe Mattering Instinct: How Our Deepest Longing Drives Us and Divides UsMore details
Language
English
Place of publication
New York
United States
Product notice
sewn/stitched
Cloth over boards
Illustrations
2 images
Dimensions
Height: 232 mm
Width: 154 mm
Thickness: 29 mm
Weight
476 gr
ISBN-13
978-1-324-09523-1 (9781324095231)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Other editions
Additional editions

E-Book
01/2026
Liveright
€29.99
Available for download
Person
J. Eric Oliver is professor of political science at the University of Chicago and host of the Nine Questions podcast. He has authored five books on subjects ranging from the politics of obesity to magical thinking in American life. He lives in Chicago.