How to Understand Yourself Better

Your Lot and Parcel

Your Lot and Parcel
How to Understand Yourself Better
Mar 09, 2026
Benjamin Diaz/J. Eric Oliver, Author, and Professor of Chicago University

What if everything you thought you knew about yourself was wrong?

For over two decades, University of Chicago professor J. Eric Oliver has taught a legendary course—The Intelligible Self—that students consistently describe as life-changing. Now, in How to Know Your Self, he brings that transformative classroom experience to readers everywhere, guiding us through the most profound journey of all: discovering who we really are.

With warmth, wit, and a gift for illuminating the unexpected, Oliver weaves together insights from neuroscience, psychology, physics, and ancient philosophy to explore the mystery of selfhood. What is this thing we call "me"? How does it form? And why are the answers we have inherited, even the ones we have arrived at ourselves so often, illusions rather than truth?

More than a collection of life hacks or quick fixes, How to Know Your Self offers something rare: a transformative framework for understanding what it means to be a person. Drawing on decades of teaching, research, and lived experience, Oliver reveals how a deeper grasp of the self can fundamentally reshape the way we navigate our one precious life.

J. Eric Oliver is the author of How to Know Your Self: The Art & Science of Discovering Who You Really Are

https://www.amazon.com/How-Know-Your-Self-Discovering/dp/1324095237

http://www.yourlotandparcel.org

Episode Artwork How to Understand Yourself Better 42:53 Episode Artwork Skills for Lifelong Restful Sleep 42:31 Episode Artwork Creative Finance Protection 34:32 Episode Artwork Fostering Mutual Empathy 40:05 Episode Artwork Simple Techniques to Restore Your Social Connections 49:07 Episode Artwork Tips To Conquer Emotional Eating 35:19 Episode Artwork Let Suffering Become Your Strength 40:52 Episode Artwork Uniting Bird Enthusiasts to Share the Joy of Birdwatching 34:55 Episode Artwork Ready to Boost Your Career? 37:49 Episode Artwork Understanding The Economic Systems That Shape Our World 45:20 Episode Artwork Turning Challenges into Joyful Opportunities 34:31 Episode Artwork Placing Our Health Above All Else 36:58 Episode Artwork Your Home Can Help You Reach Your Lifestyle Goals 33:38 Episode Artwork Knowing Bible Stories Strengthens Students’ Skills in Literature 50:23 Episode Artwork The Edmund Fitzgerald, America’s Most-Mourned Shipwreck 29:15 Episode Artwork One Psilocybin Dose Dramatically Reduced Depression 41:06 Episode Artwork Is Human Society on The Brink of Extinction? 40:21 Episode Artwork Mastering Self-Care with Natural Medicine 45:57 Episode Artwork Blending Families for Lasting Unity 39:13 Episode Artwork What You Don’t Know About Medicare Could Cost You! 43:30 Episode Artwork Exploring The Reality and Legacy of Christopher Columbus 44:31 Episode Artwork A Legacy of Exceptional Gourmet Chocolates 32:27 Episode Artwork A Powerful Story of Trauma, Survival, and Identity 43:46 Episode Artwork The Journey of AI is Far from Over 34:09 Episode Artwork The Legendary Career of Carole King 34:28