Quotation
Last reviewed:
“Knowing others is intelligence. Knowing yourself is wisdom.”
Laozi · Daoism · Ancient · received text c. 4th–3rd century BCE
What does it mean?
The mainstream reading is a ranking: understanding other people is cleverness, and understanding yourself is a deeper discernment. A competing reading notes that the chapter immediately adds further rankings, about force and contentment, so the couplet is not a complete theory of wisdom standing alone. It is chapter 33, a string of contrasts. Self-knowledge in this book is not a modern project of finding your brand, and it is seeing where you actually stand.
Did Laozi really say this?
The library’s label is Paraphrase or translation. A genuine line from the text, given in English translation. Wording differs between translators.
Where it comes from
Daodejing 33
Approximate date: received text c. 4th–3rd century BCE.
How to use it
You can be sharp about a colleague's motives and foggy about why you need to win the small argument. That split is the chapter's first step. Intelligence about others is not called worthless, and it is ranked below the clearer view of your own wants, especially the want to master people, which the next lines criticise, and a personality quiz is not the knowledge he is ranking.
A mindset reading
The habit is to check the cleverness about other people against the duller question of what you are doing. Ask which of the two you have actually practised this week. The line is a ranking, not a ban on understanding anyone but yourself.
Understand the philosophy
Chapter 33 answers what counts as real discernment. Knowing others is zhi, a quick intelligence; knowing yourself is ming, clarity or discernment. The key contrast is that pair, and the chapter goes on to say that mastering yourself is strength. Later lines rank contentment above wealth, and the received book is a composite, so the sentence is a text's sentence, not a securely personal remark.
- self
- knowledge
FAQ
What does it mean?
The mainstream reading is a ranking: understanding other people is cleverness, and understanding yourself is a deeper discernment. A competing reading notes that the chapter immediately adds further rankings, about force and contentment, so the couplet is not a complete theory of wisdom standing alone. It is chapter 33, a string of contrasts. Self-knowledge in this book is not a modern project of finding your brand, and it is seeing where you actually stand.
Did Laozi really say this?
Paraphrase or translation. A genuine line from the text, given in English translation. Wording differs between translators.
Which work is it in?
Daodejing 33 Approximate date: received text c. 4th–3rd century BCE.