Self-examination as a technique
Which self-examination techniques did you inherit without choosing?
What it argues
Self-care is a historical practice with techniques: letters to friends, journals, meditation, confession. The modern introspective self is one configuration among several, so which techniques you find natural is a fact about your era, not about human nature.
The probe
List the techniques you already use to examine yourself. Mark which came from school, work, therapy, or religion. Then try one you have never used.
The source
Technologies of the Self — Michel Foucault, 1982 lectures. The link goes to the text or to a catalogue record for it, not to a summary. This one is the text itself.
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