ABSTRACT
One of the clear signs of an intellectualist approach in moral philosophy is commitment to the idea that knowledge is a good. One way this idea comes to be expressed is in the normative principle that knowledge ought always to be maximized if we are to live good lives. When applied to the question “Who am I?” the intellectualist approach would hold that it is both rational and self-evidently desirable for persons to maximize their self-awareness and their selfknowledge, with a view to rendering the self, and the conditions under which the self develops and flourishes, as transparent as possible. This strategy, applied consistently as a policy of moral conduct, would open up newer and more rational dimensions of thought, action, and emotion than would otherwise be available.
