“Without self-confidence we are like babes in the cradle.”

– Virginia Woolf, A Room of One’s Own 

What is self-esteem? What is the difference between self-esteem and narcissism? Why is there currently epidemic levels of low self-esteem in the United States?  Skidmore Professor Sheldon Solomon will explore this topic with us on Sunday.

By all accounts, humankind finds itself at a life-and-death turning point in the twenty-first century.  We are on a course of unprecedented environmental destruction in terms of species extinction, global warming, and natural resource depletion….Humanity is at war with itself in escalating numbers of regional, ethnic, and religious conflicts.  Moreover, the global economy and institutions of modernism—like education—have fallen prey to shortsightedness and a mostly economic agenda….Regrettably, human suffering will likely increase in the coming centuries as we struggle toward a more equitable, sustainable way of life for all living beings.  I am firmly convinced that we cannot make this global transformation to a new way of thinking without also making a radical change both in our conception and practice of education. 

Mike Seymour, Educating for Humanity: Rethinking the Purposes of Education (2004)