The Terrifying Paradox of Self-Awareness

Summary by Krater

This video explores the paradox of self-awareness, comparing Western philosophical traditions that urge finding oneself to Eastern philosophies that view the self as an illusion, and concludes that the search for a permanent self can become another cage.

From the video

Answers: Why does self-awareness make us anxious and how do we escape the trap of self-analysis?

• paradox of self-awareness
• memory reconsolidation
• attachment theory in relationships
• choice architecture and anxiety
• Western vs Eastern philosophy on the self
• Anata or no-self in Buddhism
• Zhuangzi and the butterfly dream

What it concludes

• Self-awareness creates an observed self that is fundamentally different from your authentic self.
• Every time you recall a memory, you rewrite it, making recalled memory vulnerable to being updated or distorted.
• The Cruel Irony of self-awareness is that the people most committed to it become the biggest victims of its darker consequences.
• The default state of inadequacy is a part of choice architecture.
• The only way to find yourself is to lose yourself by taking risks and acting without constant self-criticism.