"Know yourself" is a aphorism greek that reveals the importance of self-knowledge, being a well-known phrase in the Philosophy branch.
There is no absolute certainty as to who authored this maxim, but there are several authors who attribute the authorship of the phrase to the Greek scholar Thales of Miletus. Despite this, there are theories that claim that the phrase was said by Socrates, Heraclitus or Pythagoras.
The aphorism "Know thyself" is inscribed at the entrance to the temple of Delphi, built in honor of Apollo, the Greek god of the sun, beauty and harmony.ex
In Greek (the language in which it was written), this sentence is gnōthi seauton; in latin is we are you ipsum and in english it is know thyself.
The full sentence is: "Know yourself and you will know the gods and the universe."
This maxim is also widely used within some religions. such as spiritism, which address the importance of self-knowledge.
Over the centuries, this phrase has been used by various authors and thinkers, and therefore has various interpretations.
"Know thyself" and Socrates
According to Plato, Socrates was present at the Temple of Apollo at Delphi, where the oracle claimed he was the wisest man ever. However, Socrates' answer was what is probably his best-known phrase: "I only know that I know nothing."
Learn the meaning of the sentence I only know that I know nothing.
Socrates was a great advocate of self-knowledge, and during his lifetime he devoted a great deal of time to trying to understand his own nature. He stated that no individual was capable of doing evil consciously and purposefully, but that evil was a result of ignorance and lack of self-knowledge.
Explanation of the sentence "Know yourself"
This sentence indicates that the first step to true knowledge is to know ourselves. If we want to know the world around us, we must first know who we are. Knowledge and knowing ourselves is a process, a search that has no end and each day we can learn more.
The self-knowledge process changes the way a person interacts with the world and with other people, opening up the possibility to know and learn new things.
Another explanation is that it's more important for us to get to know ourselves, to be aware of who we are, and not to care about what other people think about us.