Over the past century, self-help and therapy culture have emphasised constantly looking inward as a means of self-discovery and self-improvement. But are we really any better off for it? The UK-based author and philosopher Roman Krznaric believes that, for humanity to have a more empathetic, moral, creative and progressive 21st century, we must step outside of our own experiences to see how other people live.
This video is published under the RSA open access licence. For more information, visit the RSA website’s disclaimer and policies page.
Producer: Abi Stephenson
Video by the RSA
video
Thinkers and theories
The prison abolitionist who dares to envision a world without ‘unfreedoms’
16 minutes
video
Progress and modernity
Moving from Tibet to Beijing, Drolma reconciles big dreams with harsh realities
31 minutes
video
History of science
Meet the Quaker pacifist who shattered British science’s highest glass ceilings
14 minutes
video
Nature and landscape
‘A culture is no better than its woods’ – what our trees reveal about us, by W H Auden
5 minutes
video
Human rights and justice
Surreal, dazzling visuals form an Iranian expat’s tribute to defiance back home
10 minutes
video
Values and beliefs
Why a single tree, uprooted in a typhoon, means so much to one man in Hanoi
7 minutes
video
Meaning and the good life
Why Orwell urged his readers to celebrate the spring, cynics be damned
11 minutes
video
Meaning and the good life
Leading 1950s thinkers on the search for happiness in trying times
29 minutes
video
Animals and humans
Villagers struggle to keep their beloved, endangered ape population afloat
19 minutes