The History of Why
← Focused studies

Focused study · 1 lesson

Knowing oneself in Poimandres

How could knowing oneself transform a life, and what warrants trusting a teacher who promises salvation? Follow the teaching encounter in Poimandres and examine how the work connects knowledge with divine life.

Start this studyUseful preparation ↓

Self-knowledge, salvation and authority

  1. Poimandres: knowing oneself and trusting a teacherKnowing oneself in Poimandres · Lesson 1 of 1

Useful preparation

You can begin this study without prior reading. For help with evidence and translation, consult Sources and interpretation or lesson 3. Lesson 27, on Plotinus, offers a useful comparison, and lesson 87 considers how to understand a religious claim without accepting it; turn to these companions whenever they help. A link at the end of the study takes you to lesson 27 in the guided course.

  1. Sources and interpretationReference article
  2. How do we know what earlier thinkers thought?Guided course · Module 1 · Lesson 3
  3. Unity, intellect and the life of the soulGuided course · Module 6 · Lesson 27
  4. Can people understand one another without sharing a final answer?Guided course · Module 14 · Lesson 87

A lesson you complete stays complete wherever you find it. Progress is shown for each route. Your saved place takes you back to the reading itself, while this overview always shows the study’s full sequence.

Explore this study

Topics

Texts