The Philosophy of Self-Improvement

<p>There are thousands of books, podcasts, and social media posts about how to be more productive, strengthen your relationships, find your purpose, and be your all-around best self. And there are legions of programs and seminars out there designed to help you improve your life. All together, self-help represents a multi-billion dollar industry.</p><p>But despite its ubiquity and cultural influence, you may never have thought about the deeper underpinnings of self-improvement. My guest has. In fact, her research led her to add being a life coach to her academic work as a professor of cultural history, surely creating one of the most unique career combinations. Her name is Anna Schaffner and she's the author of <a href="https://amzn.to/3O2mdcP"><i>The Art of Self-Improvement: Ten Timeless Truths</i></a>. Anna and I begin our conversation with how the idea of self-improvement, far from being a recent, Western phenomenon, traces back to antiquity and can be found across cultures. We discuss how self-help reflects what a culture values, and changes based on a culture's conception of selfhood, agency, and the relationship between the individual and society. From there we turn to a few of the timeless principles of self-improvement — self-control, being virtuous, and building positive relationships — looking both at how they were tackled anciently, as well as more modern angles that can also be helpful. We discuss the downside of taking a strictly Stoic approach to life, the idea of making virtue a habit, and how Dale Carnegie can be seen as a modern Machiavelli, in a good way. We end our conversation with Anna's four favorite self-improvement books.</p><h2>Resources Related to the Podcast</h2><ul><li><a href="https://www.artofmanliness.com/health-fitness/health/podcast-476-are-modern-people-the-most-exhausted-in-history/" target="_blank">Anna's previous appearance on the show — Episode #476: Are Modern People the Most Exhausted in History?</a></li><li><a href="https://www.artofmanliness.com/character/manly-lessons/12-