It is difficult to know yourself if you do not know others?

[intjguy]

"It is difficult to know yourself if you do not know others."

What does this sentence mean to you? Do you consider it valid? I will share my view later.

[tcaudilllg]

I agree with it. One certainly needs knowledge of others as a vehicle for comparison.

[anndelise]

I would say that it works together.
Learning to understand others helps you learn about yourself.
Learning about yourself helps you learn to understand others.

However, when it comes to asserting that someone is such-n-such type,
I believe that if you can't see how the IA/IE describe you and your own complexes,
then how the heck can you hope to use them to describe others and their complexes?

(note: "you" is a general you and not referring to anyone specific)

[DirectorAbbie]

Bonkers. It's difficult to know others if you do not know yourself.

[silverchris9]

Totally true. While introspection is an important tool, if you have no internal world to compare to your own its like trying to draw a house with no walls or something. You have nothing for comparison, just yourself floating out in empty space. Your information isn't definite or solid, it doesn't have independent confirmation. Not that it ever will, but understanding other people gets you just that little bit closer.

[intjguy]

Totally true. While introspection is an important tool, if you have no internal world to compare to your own its like trying to draw a house with no walls or something. You have nothing for comparison, just yourself floating out in empty space. Your information isn't definite or solid, it doesn't have independent confirmation. Not that it ever will, but understanding other people gets you just that little bit closer.

In the 2nd sentence, do you mean external world?

Very interesting point, I feel I compare myself to something far above me due to introversion. Time to time I need to look more outside - at reality - and when I compare myself to others, they will seem like ants who are lost and conforming. I don't know what the use of this is view is... ah, indifference perhaps? Sometimes the english language confuses me. Is indifference a part of what everyone calls "confidence"? In my experience, the female gender definitely believes so hahah.

I wrote down what I saw in the topic quote before reading what you said, silverchair:
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I consider it valid. To know yourself means to know your intentions, or your destiny (aside from random phenomena that can kill you, lol). If I spend too much time with others who have no shared intention of my own, I am clearly wasting my time. Is time not the most important thing in life?

I believe this is just a speckle of what this sentence covers. How will you know you are strong if you don't compare yourself to others? How will you know your weakness if you don't compare yourself to others? These are questions I forget to ask myself
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Thanks for the contribution silverchair. You have built my awareness some more.





“Aspire to be like Mt. Fuji, with such a broad and solid foundation that the strongest earthquake cannot move you, and so tall that the greatest enterprises of common men seem insignificant from your lofty perspective. With your mind as high as Mt Fuji you can see all things clearly. And you can see all the forces that shape events; not just the things happening near to you.”

[April]

I definitely agree with it, but I prefer a Buddha quote that is a little more broad:

"The foot feels the foot when it feels the ground."

[Skeptic]

You don't need to know others to know yourself independently, which is the only thing that matters imho. To know how you match up comparatively, however, requires knowledge of other people.

[intjguy]

Bad ass April.

[chip]

Comparing yourself to yourself is proactive. For instance when I compare my situation presently, as of this year, and looking back just a few months ago, my life has improved. There is no sense in comparing yourself to others as there is always going to be reasons to say yes it could be better and yes it could be worse.

I value intelligence but admittedly there is tons of living and historic figures who are way smarter than me and wheather I like it or not, I'll never be as smart as them. The same can be said for good looks, I'm a good looking guy, but I'm in no way a Brad Pitt.

My sense of living with others is not comparitive but figuring out mine and others comtributions to community. The question I ask is not how do you compare but how do you contribute to others?

There are some people who have a competitive streak and due to that they try really hard when its completely unnecessary. Take for example road hockey, a friend of mine kept playing like it was high stakes. He was elbowing and swearing at other people, and even though he kept measuring himself to others and trying to out play everyone, most people saw his attitude as ridiculous and immature. We had on numerous occassions told him to relax, "were not playing for the stanley cup".

I suppose in some respects you could enlarge your view and place all of this into modern political theory, i.e. individualism, socialism, elitism, etc.

[Brilliand]

You don't need to know others to know yourself independently, which is the only thing that matters imho. To know how you match up comparatively, however, requires knowledge of other people.

I agree mostly, though it's annoying not being able to comment on myself to other people (which requires a comparison).

[07490]

Brilliand, I swear I had a dream about you today.

[Brilliand]

Brilliand, I swear I had a dream about you today.

Cool. What was the dream?

[intjguy]

I can tell you it definitely wasn't G rated *hubba hubba rawr*

[Ave]

Bonkers. It's difficult to know others if you do not know yourself.

Im inclined to agree, though as someone said they complement each other,im sure which one you should start with first knowing yourself or knowing others, whichever strikes your curiousity more, though I think its more important to know yourself in order to know others than the other way around.

[Brilliand]

Im inclined to agree, though as someone said they complement each other,im sure which one you should start with first knowing yourself or knowing others, whichever strikes your curiousity more, though I think its more important to know yourself in order to know others than the other way around.

Well, knowing others and not yourself, it's possible at least to compare others to each other.

[JWC3]

Knowing others without knowing yourself = SEE?

[Azeroffs]

You don't need to know others to know yourself independently, which is the only thing that matters imho. To know how you match up comparatively, however, requires knowledge of other people.

this

You can know plenty about yourself without knowing others.