• Ugesh
    20
    Curious to know your views.
  • Valentinus
    1.6k
    Because what that sentence might mean has been interpreted in so many ways from different premises and modes of talking about ourselves, it is best to give it your best shot and see what people say afterwards.
  • pseudonothingness
    3

    do you exist? If you do, you are but a part of the surrounding you live in and aren't any more important than the other objects of the surrounding. Thus, if one is looking for wisdom, while it does begin from oneself and realizing that the question holds importance, but at the same time, being a part of the system, you can't look just at yourself without looking at the surroundings and what they hold.
    These are my views.
  • 180 Proof
    14k
    'To know that one does not know whatever one believes one knows with certainty' seems the beginning of wisdom.
  • Mak
    3
    Know thyself is a life long procces I guess. And when we start to question about our own actions and thinking, we start to aware other aspects of life and our surroundings.
  • jgill
    3.5k
    I'm not sure that knowing thyself is even possible, but what is more important is to know thy limitations. I was a rock climber for over half a century and learned that lesson early on.
  • Pinprick
    950


    I agree that knowing your limitations are important, but I’ve always, for whatever reason, been more interested in the opposite; knowing how far I would go. Questions like “am I capable of murder, suicide, deception, etc.” have always intrigued me. I feel like this type of questioning has lead me to find some common humanity with virtually anyone. I seem able to see the human rather than the monster, so to speak. So, I guess what I’m getting at is that through attempting to “know thyself” I’ve been able to gain a deeper understanding of others as well, and I would consider that to be wisdom.
  • Tom Storm
    8.3k
    I'm not sure that knowing thyself is even possible, but what is more important is to know thy limitations. I was a rock climber for over half a century and learned that lesson early on.jgill

    Know thy limitations is the same thing a know thyself.
  • Amity
    4.6k
    There is nothing quite like 'knowing yourself' to be able to progress in a realistic and effective way. Whether you have to be wise first to realise this - or wise after life events - or both might be the case.

    It is certainly true that some bits of knowing our self are easier than others.
    Writing your CV or your time line will give you and others quantative details.
    Looking at past photographs will show a little of who we are.

    It is the 'gaps between the snaps' - the qualitative aspect of our lives and the way we think that if explored objectively can be a more important kind of 'knowing'.

    I decided a few months ago to permanently 'shut up' on this forum. It was a result of the owner @jamalrob telling me to in a particular thread.
    I didn't appreciate the way he talked to me. And I felt wronged.

    Whatever the rights and wrongs, I have never felt comfortable leaving it like that.
    Why?
    Because I lost something in the process.

    Philosophy forums - owners, mods and members are easy to criticise. And I did.
    I thought it was constructive. Turns out I was wrong. And that realisation comes after a period of standing back and reflecting.

    Participating in philosophy forums has, over the years with all the questioning, helped improve analytical skills alongside having fun exploring other worlds.
    Meeting like and unlike minds is perhaps a good beginning step to getting to know your self; your limitations and strengths.

    Philosophy forums test you in more ways than one.
    There is a wisdom in keeping a distance whenever it is necessary.
    Pulling back when it gets too personal.
    Knowing your self and others through experience can give you a practical wisdom.
    How can you be sure you really know yourself without others and their feedback.
    I can be as delusional as the next person...

    Clear thinking can be disturbed and made cloudy by many factors.
    Many right now feel depressed - many have come to know themselves and have lived a life well enough to realise that this too will pass. Others will need intervention of some kind.

    Developing a personal philosophy of life takes time. We all process stuff to the best of our ability. In addition to know thyself, I would add be good to yourself.

    As such, I will participate as and when I feel able...
    I will not 'Shut up'.
  • Tom Storm
    8.3k
    Turns out I was wrong. And that realisation comes after a period of standing back and reflecting.Amity

    That's a courageous thing to say.

    My own view is that people do not reflect often enough on two things. 1) on how much they really know about something and 2) how they are coming across.
  • Amity
    4.6k
    That's a courageous thing to say.Tom Storm

    Thanks for that but I am not so sure about it being 'courageous'.

    I agree any admission of being wrong after reflection can be seen as a strength.
    However, others can see an expression of regret as a sign of weakness.
    Of being a 'loser'.

    Politicians, in particular, need their self image to be strong. It is important to be seen as a winner, even when all the facts point in the opposite direction.
    They might even have self-knowledge about this. They know themselves.

    So, where does any wisdom enter the picture ?
    Perhaps In knowing about others and reaching like minds. A kind of philosophy...a way of being wordly wise...

    My own view is that people do not reflect often enough on two things. 1) on how much they really know about something and 2) how they are coming across.Tom Storm

    You make good points.

    I said that: my realisation came 'after a period of standing back and reflecting'.

    Re point 1: How do you know that is true ? How would reflection help you be sure ?
    Asking relevant questions. Not just accepting at face value. Using the tools of philosophical reflection or just plain old scepticism...
    Sometimes, though, we just sense an underlying honesty. There is an intuition.

    Re 2 : Reflecting on how we are coming across.
    How words can show us up, rightly or wrongly.

    I might have given the wrong impression as to the quantity and quality of my reflection.
    I didn't spend a whole lot of time in active reflection.
    Probably more subconscious over the months I was absent.

    Really, things came together quite recently when I reconnected with a friend.
    I felt the need to engage. It made me think again in a more active way.
    About what I wanted. And a way forward.

    So, self-reflection as a way to self-knowledge is something that can be done at a subconscious level or more purposefully.

    Philosophical forums can help shine a light on the reality of our selves, actions and practice and not one that is self-biased, a bit skew whiff.

    It can be a brave thing to do. To post thoughts as you process them. To be open to challenge or another perspective.
    To look in the mirror, to accept and change your view of self.
    To think again...
  • Tom Storm
    8.3k
    Politicians, in particular, need their self image to be strong. It is important to be seen as a winner, even when all the facts point in the opposite direction.Amity

    I've known a few politicians. This is lamentable. Really the primary job of a politician is not to give the game away. Looking strong is the easiest way to do this. But it is the public's loss that we see strength in such limited cartoon terms.

    Philosophical forums can help shine a light on the reality of our selves, actions and practice and not one that is self-biased, a bit skew whiff.Amity

    Never done this before. I am not on any social media either. I just thought I would give this a fortnight to see whether I found it stimulating. I'm wondering if a forum distorts one's personality. You have quite unnatural conversations in concentrated increments in slow motion.

    Nice to chat.
  • Amity
    4.6k
    Never done this before. I am not on any social media either. I just thought I would give this a fortnight to see whether I found it stimulating. I'm wondering if a forum distorts one's personality. You have quite unnatural conversations in concentrated increments in slow motion.

    Nice to chat.
    Tom Storm

    It is lovely to chat with you too.

    I am not on any social media either.
    Re philosophy forums, I have participated in 3.
    Each one of them has pros and cons.

    I learned from what you might call the 'wise' ones and also those that rubbed me up the wrong way.
    Whether you find it stimulating in a few weeks is pretty much up to you.
    Just as I returned here, whether for better or worse - that is up to me.
    I have decided to limit any interactions due to time and energy levels.
    So far, so good.

    Re: wondering if a forum distorts one's personality.
    What did you have in mind ?

    I think there is value in discussion but some exchanges may be harmful to self.
    Some might be more susceptible or vulnerable than others.
    I am still learning not to allow myself to be antagonised.
    Difficult at times to read and write carefully.

    Re: unnatural conversations in concentrated increments in slow motion.

    I am not sure what you mean by this. The dialogues or discussions on any particular topic or book can vary as to the aim, time and energy of the people involved.

    I hope you stay around.
  • Tom Storm
    8.3k
    Re: wondering if a forum distorts one's personality.
    What did you have in mind ?
    Amity

    Just that the conversations to my taste are often terribly stilted and stylized - compared to those I have in real life. People tend to exaggerate or diminish parts of themselves in this style of communication.

    I am not sure what you mean by this. The dialogues or discussions on any particular topic or book can vary as to the aim, time and energy of the people involved.Amity

    That the act of offering a written opinion over a protracted period is unnatural, compared to an ordinary conversation. Nuance and tone are hard to gauge. A discussion is had slowly over hours or days and has an effect on the discourse.

    None of the above is insurmountable or dire, just a curious by product of forum-world.
  • Amity
    4.6k
    None of the above is insurmountable or dire...Tom Storm

    Indeed.

    People tend to exaggerate or diminish parts of themselves in this style of communication.Tom Storm

    This form and style of communication lends itself to people doing all sorts :smile:
  • Arne
    796
    I suggest Socrates would consider wisdom to be rooted in being aware of the limits of your knowledge rather than its extent.
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