Unearned Wisdom reader route
The Divided Self
A route into identity, self-knowledge, conflicting motives, and the difficult gap between what a person believes and what a person does.
What happens when two reasonable motives point a person in incompatible directions?
Essays on identity and the self
Get selected essays on inner conflict, self-narrative, blind spots, and the limits of easy self-knowledge.
Use Self-Questioning Field Guide
Go further with The Dichotomy of the Self
An exploration of the theories and tensions that shape identity, self-sabotage, and the stories we tell about who we are.
See whether The Dichotomy of the Self is for you
- Identify a decision where your stated goal and repeated behavior do not quite agree.
- Use the Field Guide to describe the competing motives without forcing a quick verdict.
- Read further on the theories and tensions that make identity more complicated than a label.