Yale Professor Joshua Knobe - Why Are We Drawn to Sad Art? #137

Joshua Knobe is a Yale professor and experimental philosopher whose research explores identity, morality, human behaviour and the way we decide what makes someone their “true self.” In this conversation, we start with a deceptively simple question: what makes you, you? From there we get into why we see the “good” parts of people as more real, how relationships and first impressions shape identity, and how much of who we are changes depending on the people and situations around us.

We also explore alcohol and personality, the different versions of ourselves we present online and in person, whether authenticity is even possible, and why social media can distort the way we understand ourselves and other people. Joshua also talks about morality, spirituality, art, emotional expression and the strange point where documenting your life starts to become a performance.

If this one's got you thinking about goals, I built something for exactly that.

The Chapter System: https://bit.ly/4gw6m6x

If you like this type of episode, you'll probably like any of the following: https://studio.youtube.com/playlist/PLGUpYukY0ZPc/videos

Chapters:

00:00:00 Preview

00:01:29 What Makes You, You?

00:03:11 Why We Think the “Good” Part Is the Real You

00:07:56 Why We Believe There’s Good Deep Down

00:11:38 The Different Versions of You

00:15:44 Why Your Best Work Feels Like the Real You

00:18:05 Alcohol and the “Real” You

00:23:33 Attachment, Shame and Self-Perception

00:29:31 Are You More Real In Person Than Online?

00:34:11 Why Men Communicate Differently

00:40:32 Religion, Spirituality and the True Self

00:41:34 Why Do We Like Sad Art?

00:48:46 When Pain Becomes Art

00:53:43 Travel, Distance and How We See Other Lives

00:56:55 Why Art Stops Being About the Artist

01:02:12 When Does Footage Become Art?

01:03:53 Can You Ever Be Authentic on Camera?

🎙️ MY STUFF

The Chapter System (the PDF):

https://bit.ly/4gw6m6x

All my other stuff: https://awakenoutofcontext.com

Joshua Knobe:

Website:

https://campuspress.yale.edu/joshuaknobe/

Yale:

https://philosophy.yale.edu/profile/joshua-knobe

Experimental Philosophy:

https://experimental-philosophy.yale.edu/