Is All Knowledge Self-Knowledge?

[MysterionMuffles]

I would argue yes. It seems to me everything we choose to engage in and be educated on is an extention of who we are. And I say choose very carefully as I do not count the stuff we're forced to learn in school. Whether it's for utility or pleasure, anything we choose to learn about becomes who we are. I chose to learn guitar, I guess you can call me a guitarist, I studied writing and so you could call me a writer, I study philosophy, so to some degree I'm also a philosopher.

 

What are your thoughts?

[Pepin]

I can't say knowledge of physics or C+ is self knowledge. Certainly the self is what attains and stores the knowledge, but the knowledge does not at all pertain to the self. You can label yourself based on the knowledge you prefer to take in, like someone who learns a lot about philosophy can perhaps call themselves a philosopher, but the actual information doesn't relate to the self. I don't think you could say that you picked up a book on modern physics and that you intend to read it from cover to cover in order to gain self knowledge. Would you say that physics is now apart of you?

 

I do feel like I understand where you are coming from, but I think the idea makes everything far more complicated. I'd say that self knowledge is knowledge that pertains almost exclusively to the self whereas other knowledge does not pertain to the self and is independent of the self. Physics for instance is completely independent from the self. Knowing that you can't be in two places at the same time is not a feature of self knowledge because it not a result of the self, but rather a result of physics.