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This is a speech by John Piper. Even though he looks at the situation differently (religiously), we both argue the same point that we can never fully know ourselves.

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Jeremy Divinity author of the essay I discussed

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Casino Roulette - Explained in Narrative

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We as humans are constantly changing. Every time that we acquire new knowledge, or anything happens really, we change. Therefore, I believe that we can never fully know ourselves. Nonetheless, a person can know their core values, what they believe to be important, and what they stand for. By truly understanding these things a person can begin to know themselves.

In order to write this narrative I have been researching and found a very interesting article titled “Know Thyself: A Short Essay on The Importance of Knowing” written by Jeremy Divinity. In his work, Divinity, introduces some very interesting points, but is ultimately attempting to show that we can really know ourselves. However, I disagree with some of the points the writer makes. For example he says, “Nothing outside of yourself has any dictation on who you are and how you go about your life. When you know yourself, you will realize this, that life is so simple and that you control your own destiny.” I would argue that external factors may be just as important when it comes to knowing yourself. We are constantly in contact with our environment. In fact, our environment shapes our actions, our thoughts, and our feelings. So, unlike Jeremy Divinity, I argue that for a person to know themselves, it is crucial that they understand their environment and the ways that the environment shapes their decisions and actions.

I believe that, in a way, all ways of knowing (language, sense perception, emotion, reason, imagination, faith, intuition, and memory) shape the way we perceive the world and therefore shape the way in which we know ourselves. Every single bit of knowledge we learn can lead us to knowing ourselves better. For example, when we taste a new food (sense perception) and we like it, we are gaining new knowledge and thus knowing ourselves even more. Another example could be emotion, as we react or feel something towards a certain situation, we are learning about ourselves through our emotions.

Personally, I have gone through many situations in which I learn about myself. For instance, during the COVID pandemic I have learned that I am more resilient to change that I believed I was. However, I believe that we can learn more about ourselves on a daily basis, even regarding little things.

In order to know everything about us and fully know ourselves we would have to acquire so much knowledge and live so many experiences that I simply believe it is impossible.

Nonetheless, as I reflect on the extent to which we know ourselves, I cannot stop myself from imagining what it would be like to fully know ourselves.

I am a firm believer that a lot of the thrill of life is the unpredictability to it. Not fully knowing ourselves allows for surprises. For a moment, think of a roulette game in a casino. This game is played as follows: you walk to the table, make a bet on which color the ball will land, and wait and see what happens. Basically, you guess. So why is this game so popular? Because of the thrill and excitement that you feel when the ball is rolling and not knowing if you guessed correctly or not. Do you think people would enjoy the game so much if they know where the ball is going to land? The same goes for movies or TV shows. It is much more exciting to watch a movie or show for the first time when you don’t know what is going to happen. Same goes for sporting events.

If truly knowing ourselves means that we would be able to know the way in which we will react to our ever-changing environment, I believe the question should be, why would we want to know ourselves?
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