Western reflections on self-knowledge originate in ancient mythology and philosophy, where understanding oneself was linked to ethical action rather than internal introspection in the modern sense. In Homer’s epics, honour and dishonour determined personal and familial integrity, while Hesiod described a decline from a just Golden Age to an era of greed. This further grounds the idea that self-awareness begins with understanding our moral obligations.
Ancient Greek thought placed humans within a cosmic order governed by gods providing guidance, where justice and virtue ensured harmony. This perspective led to two primary branches of Greek philosophy: the study of nature (leading to fields like astronomy and medicine) and the exploration of ethics and justice. The question of how we ought to live became the focal point for Socrates. He believed that understanding the soul’s inner order was crucial for a just life.
Following Socrates, Plato emphasised this inner order. It was his contention that the soul has three parts: the intellectual, the spirited, and the appetitive. Each part has its proper function, but they must work in harmony for a just soul. Sophrosyne (or temperance) a term with roots in Homer’s epics, represents the virtue that brings these aspects of the soul into balance. A person with sophrosyne has mastery over their passions, aligning them with what is truly good and just.
The Delphic Oracle’s Know thyself was not about uncovering some inner essence of selfhood that can be expounded as a philosophy, but, rather, the fact that how we see and act is bound up with the relation of the self with the world. In this way Socrates found a correspondence between the order of the cosmos and the order of the soul.
Ultimately, for Plato, the soul originates in the transcendent Good and whatever it perceives properly in the temporal world reminds it of its origin when it beheld eternal truth and goodness in perfect rest and completeness.
If you found this blog thought provoking and would like to explore these ideas further, we would refer you to the online course presented by Dr Joseph Milne: Reflections on Self Knowledge from the Greek Philosopher to the Medieval Mystics.
Image credit: Amanda Reid
