--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Knowing yourself means knowing, first…" description: "\"“Knowing yourself means knowing, first, what it is to be a person; secondly, knowing what it is to be the kind of person you are; and thirdly, knowing ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/925/r-g-collingwood-2-53566_history_knowing-yourself-means-knowing-first-wha_2228047.jpg" --- # Knowing yourself means knowing, first, what it is to be a… ![“Knowing yourself means knowing, first, what it is to be a person; secondly, knowing what it is to be the kind of person you are; and thirdly, knowing what it is to be the person you are and nobody else is. Knowing yourself means knowing what you can do; and since nobody knows what they can do…” quote by R.G. Collingwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/925/r-g-collingwood-2-53566_history_knowing-yourself-means-knowing-first-wha_2228047.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/925/r-g-collingwood-2-53566_history_knowing-yourself-means-knowing-first-wha_2228047.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/925/r-g-collingwood-2-53566_history_knowing-yourself-means-knowing-first-wha_2228047.jpg) > ““Knowing yourself means knowing, first, what it is to be a person; secondly, knowing what it is to be the kind of person you are; and thirdly, knowing what it is to be the person you are and nobody else is. Knowing yourself means knowing what you can do; and since nobody knows what they can do until they try, The only clue to what man can do is what man has done. The value of history, then, is that it teaches us what man has done and thus what man is.”” [R.G. Collingwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/r-g-collingwood-2/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Self‑knowledge involves understanding one’s nature, role, and unique identity, plus recognizing abilities through action and learning from history. **In simple terms:** Know yourself, your limits, and learn from past deeds. Key Takeaway Reflect on past actions to discover potential. Themes self‑knowledge identity history potential Mood introspective thoughtful Type philosophical reflective When to use this quote - career planning - personal development - education - leadership - creative projects Key Concepts philosophy existentialism human nature Questions to Reflect On - What past experience best shows your true abilities? - How can you test unknown potentials? A Different Perspective Assumes past actions fully reveal future capacity, which may not hold. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [History](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/history/) [Knowing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/knowing/) [Knowing Knows](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/knowing-knows-4473768/) [Knowing Means](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/knowing-means-1151752/) [Knowing Person](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/knowing-person-363931/) [Knowing yourself](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/knowing-yourself/) [Means Knowing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/means-knowing-728002/) [Nobody knows](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/nobody-knows/) [Value of history](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/value-of-history/) ## Related quotes > [History is for human self-knowledge. Knowing yourself means knowing, first, what it is to be a person; secondly, knowing what it is to be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robin-g-collingwood/history-is-for-human-self-knowledge-knowing-yourself-means-knowing/) [Robin G. Collingwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robin-g-collingwood/) > [If God is all knowing and he knows our future, then how is that free will?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/if-god-is-all-knowing-and-he-knows-our-future-then-how-is-that-free/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“History is for human self-knowledge…the only clue to what man can do is what man has done. The value of history, then, is that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/r-g-collingwood-2/history-is-for-human-self-knowledge-the-only-clue-to-what-man-can-do/) [R.G. Collingwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/r-g-collingwood-2/) > [Not knowing something, means that you know, that you dont know something, therefore not knowing, means that you know.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/my-me/not-knowing-something-means-that-you-know-that-you-dont-know/) [My (Me](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/my-me/) > [The perpetual stream of human nature is formed into ever-changing shallows, eddies, falls and pools by the land over which it passes. Perhaps the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-renault/the-perpetual-stream-of-human-nature-is-formed-into-ever-changing/) [Mary Renault](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-renault/) > [The value of history. ..is that it teaches us what man has done and thus what man is.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robin-g-collingwood/the-value-of-history-is-that-it-teaches-us-what-man-has-done-and-thus/) [Robin G. Collingwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robin-g-collingwood/) > [That is the supreme value of history. The study of it is the best guarantee against repeating it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-buchan/that-is-the-supreme-value-of-history-the-study-of-it-is-the-best/) [John Buchan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-buchan/) > [The whole value of history, of biography, is to increase my self-trust, by demonstrating what man can be and do.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/the-whole-value-of-history-of-biography-is-to-increase-my-self-trust/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [“But it is one thing to remember, another to know. Remembering is merely safeguarding something entrusted to the memory; knowing, however, means making everything…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seneca/but-it-is-one-thing-to-remember-another-to-know-remembering-is-merely/) [Seneca](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seneca/) > [The value of history is, indeed, not scientific but moral: by liberalizing the mind, by deepening the sympathies, by fortifying the will, it enables…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-becker/the-value-of-history-is-indeed-not-scientific-but-moral-by-2/) [Carl Becker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-becker/) > [Knowing is higher than believing. Knowing means that there is NO doubt.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-anthony/knowing-is-higher-than-believing-knowing-means-that-there-is-no-doubt/) [Robert Anthony](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-anthony/) > [The practical value of history is to throw the film of the past through the material projector of the present on to the screen…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/the-practical-value-of-history-is-to-throw-the-film-of-the-past/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Poetry is ... the physical enactment of a process of knowing by means of language.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-doty/poetry-is-the-physical-enactment-of-a-process-of-knowing-by-means-of/) [Mark Doty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-doty/) > [The value of history is, indeed, not scientific but moral: by liberalizing the mind, by deepening the sympathies, by fortifying the will, it enables…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-l-becker/the-value-of-history-is-indeed-not-scientific-but-moral-by/) [Carl L. Becker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-l-becker/) > [London imbued me with an appreciation of the beauty and value of history in general. As it has evolved and grown, the city has…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hilary-farr/london-imbued-me-with-an-appreciation-of-the-beauty-and-value-of/) [Hilary Farr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hilary-farr/) ## More by R.G. Collingwood > [“The question what presuppositions underlie the 'physics' or natural science of a certain people at a certain time is a purely historical question as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/r-g-collingwood-2/the-question-what-presuppositions-underlie-the-physics-or-natural/) [R.G. Collingwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/r-g-collingwood-2/) > [“History is for human self-knowledge…the only clue to what man can do is what man has done. The value of history, then, is that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/r-g-collingwood-2/history-is-for-human-self-knowledge-the-only-clue-to-what-man-can-do/) [R.G. Collingwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/r-g-collingwood-2/) > [“Thus natural science is not a way of knowing the real world; its value lies not in its truth but in its utility; by…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/r-g-collingwood-2/thus-natural-science-is-not-a-way-of-knowing-the-real-world-its-value/) [R.G. Collingwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/r-g-collingwood-2/) > [“The progressive intellectualization of language, its progressive conversion by the work of grammar and logic into a scientific symbolism, ... represents not a progressive…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/r-g-collingwood-2/the-progressive-intellectualization-of-language-its-progressive/) [R.G. Collingwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/r-g-collingwood-2/) [Explore all 5 R.G. Collingwood quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/r-g-collingwood-2/) ## More History quotes > [Histories never conclude; they just pause their prose. Their stories are, if they are truthful, untidy affairs, resistant to windings-up and sortings-out. They beat…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/simon-schama/histories-never-conclude-they-just-pause-their-prose-their-stories/) [Simon Schama](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/simon-schama/) > [It is said that history turns on small hinges. A human career, too, results from an accumulating series of decisions about large and small…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/norman-vincent-peale/it-is-said-that-history-turns-on-small-hinges-a-human-career-too/) [Norman Vincent Peale](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/norman-vincent-peale/) > [The history of mankind interests us only as it exhibits a steady gain of truth and right, in the incessant conflict which it records…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/the-history-of-mankind-interests-us-only-as-it-exhibits-a-steady-gain/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [In the entire history of the universe, let alone in your own history, there has never been another day just like today, and there…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-buechner/in-the-entire-history-of-the-universe-let-alone-in-your-own-history/) [Frederick Buechner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-buechner/) > [The NBA is my history.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/penny-hardaway/the-nba-is-my-history/) [Penny Hardaway](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/penny-hardaway/) > [History has often showed us the strength of the forces that are unleashed by the yearning for freedom. It moved people to overcome their…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/angela-merkel/history-has-often-showed-us-the-strength-of-the-forces-that-are/) [Angela Merkel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/angela-merkel/) > [We find few historians who have been diligent enough in their search for truth; it is their common method to take on trust what…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-dryden/we-find-few-historians-who-have-been-diligent-enough-in-their-search/) [John Dryden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-dryden/) > [What is history after all? History is facts which become lies in the end.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-cocteau/what-is-history-after-all-history-is-facts-which-become-lies-in-the/) [Jean Cocteau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-cocteau/) > [Things live and die, and then someone processes them into edible portions. This is a complete telling of the story, 'Food.' The basic plot…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-fahrenthold/things-live-and-die-and-then-someone-processes-them-into-edible/) [David Fahrenthold](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-fahrenthold/) > [History is a certain way, but you just change the point of view a little bit, and you discover a whole new side of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/allison-schroeder/history-is-a-certain-way-but-you-just-change-the-point-of-view-a/) [Allison Schroeder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/allison-schroeder/) > [We're at a point in history were we have to become a part of the neighborhood of inhabited planets, like a neighborhood of a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edgar-mitchell/we-re-at-a-point-in-history-were-we-have-to-become-a-part-of-the/) [Edgar Mitchell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edgar-mitchell/) > [Today is a reality, tomorrow's a promise, and yesterday's history!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/billy-blanks/today-is-a-reality-tomorrow-s-a-promise-and-yesterday-s-history/) [Billy Blanks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/billy-blanks/) > [Truth be told from compulsive liars with a history/Everything must change 2nd chances are a mystery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/c-dash/truth-be-told-from-compulsive-liars-with-a-history-everything-must/) [C-DASH](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/c-dash/) > [Every army in the history of the world has always had some deserters, usually much greater than we have today, because once again every…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bryan-hilferty/every-army-in-the-history-of-the-world-has-always-had-some-deserters/) [Bryan Hilferty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bryan-hilferty/) > [“To those great geniuses now in petticoats, who shall write novels for the beloved reader's children, these men and things will be as much…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-makepeace-thackeray/to-those-great-geniuses-now-in-petticoats-who-shall-write-novels-for/) [William Makepeace Thackeray](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-makepeace-thackeray/) [Browse all 27,263 History quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/history/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“Knowing yourself means knowing, first, what it is to be a person; secondly, knowing what it is to be the kind of person you are; and thirdly, knowing what it is to be the person you are and nobody else is. 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