--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: How can we know who is the other until we…" description: "\"How can we know who is the other until we know who is the self?\" — Terence McKenna" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4c8/terence-mckenna-287_identity_how-can-we-know-who-is-the-other-until-w_1249375.png" --- # How can we know who is the other until we know who is the… ![“How can we know who is the other until we know who is the self?” quote by Terence McKenna](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4c8/terence-mckenna-287_identity_how-can-we-know-who-is-the-other-until-w_1249375.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4c8/terence-mckenna-287_identity_how-can-we-know-who-is-the-other-until-w_1249375.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4c8/terence-mckenna-287_identity_how-can-we-know-who-is-the-other-until-w_1249375.png) > “How can we know who is the other until we know who is the self?” [Terence McKenna](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terence-mckenna/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Understanding others requires self‑knowledge; identity is a mirror reflecting relational insight. **In simple terms:** Know yourself to know others. Key Takeaway Reflect on your self‑concept. Themes self‑awareness relationships philosophy Mood introspective thoughtful Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - personal counseling - team building - conflict resolution Key Concepts identity mirror metaphor interdependence Questions to Reflect On - How does your self‑image shape your view of others? - Can you separate ego from empathy? A Different Perspective Self‑knowledge may be limited by bias. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Identity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/identity/) [Self](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/self/) ## Related quotes > [Have what you already have. Know what you already know. Be who you already are. That is what Self-Realization is all about.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-truman/have-what-you-already-have-know-what-you-already-know-be-who-you/) [David Truman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-truman/) > [Trying to be anyone else is a waste of the person we are. Lets be our self. Embrace that individual inside us that has…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/glen-rambharack/trying-to-be-anyone-else-is-a-waste-of-the-person-we-are-lets-be-our/) [Glen Rambharack](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/glen-rambharack/) > [For all we know, we know nothing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terence-mckenna/for-all-we-know-we-know-nothing/) [Terence McKenna](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terence-mckenna/) > [“Those who speak, do not know; those who know, do not speak.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-w-watts/those-who-speak-do-not-know-those-who-know-do-not-speak/) [Alan W. Watts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-w-watts/) > [You Dont Know, What You Dont Know, until You Know, What You Dont Know ~ Big Al Connolly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/big-al-connolly/you-dont-know-what-you-dont-know-until-you-know-what-you-dont-know/) [Big Al Connolly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/big-al-connolly/) > [“I only know, I know nothing”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/socrates/i-only-know-i-know-nothing/) [Socrates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/socrates/) > [“I know what you are, but I also know who you are too. And the ‘who’ is the part that defines us.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amalie-howard/i-know-what-you-are-but-i-also-know-who-you-are-too-and-the-who-is/) [Amalie Howard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amalie-howard/) > [To know what you know and what you do not know, that is true knowledge.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/confucius/to-know-what-you-know-and-what-you-do-not-know-that-is-true-knowledge/) [Confucius](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/confucius/) > [When your up, your friends know who you are. When you're down, you know who your friends are.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anmol-andore/when-your-up-your-friends-know-who-you-are-when-you-re-down-you-know/) [Anmol Andore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anmol-andore/) > [“She wanted to know about them, not to know them.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joan-g-robinson/she-wanted-to-know-about-them-not-to-know-them/) [Joan G. Robinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joan-g-robinson/) > [As a young kid, you only know what you know.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bret-bielema/as-a-young-kid-you-only-know-what-you-know/) [Bret Bielema](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bret-bielema/) > [“I know I know nothing, but I know more than some people...”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jessica-mckendry/i-know-i-know-nothing-but-i-know-more-than-some-people/) Jessica McKendry > [I already know that u know that I like u, the question is Wat r u going to do with that information.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nishan-panwar/i-already-know-that-u-know-that-i-like-u-the-question-is-wat-r-u/) [Nishan Panwar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nishan-panwar/) > [I know who I am. I know what I represent.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alex-cora/i-know-who-i-am-i-know-what-i-represent/) [Alex Cora](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alex-cora/) > [“More we know, more we come know that how less we know”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/souvik-khamrui/more-we-know-more-we-come-know-that-how-less-we-know/) Souvik Khamrui ## More by Terence McKenna > [History was an incredibly damaging experience, and now it's over . . . in a sense.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terence-mckenna/history-was-an-incredibly-damaging-experience-and-now-it-s-over-in-a/) [Terence McKenna](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terence-mckenna/) > [We are somehow the children of the planet, we are somehow its finest hour; we bind time, we bind the past, we anticipate the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terence-mckenna/we-are-somehow-the-children-of-the-planet-we-are-somehow-its-finest/) [Terence McKenna](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terence-mckenna/) > [The history of man that you don't know is what your unconscious is made out of. Just as the history of yourself that you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terence-mckenna/the-history-of-man-that-you-don-t-know-is-what-your-unconscious-is/) [Terence McKenna](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terence-mckenna/) > [We are consciousness. We may not always be monkeys.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terence-mckenna/we-are-consciousness-we-may-not-always-be-monkeys/) [Terence McKenna](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terence-mckenna/) > [What is happening here is we are living past the age, by the millions, living past the age where cultural values make any sense…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terence-mckenna/what-is-happening-here-is-we-are-living-past-the-age-by-the-millions/) [Terence McKenna](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terence-mckenna/) > [What history is, essentially, is a careening, out-of-control effort to find our way back to this state of primordial balance.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terence-mckenna/what-history-is-essentially-is-a-careening-out-of-control-effort-to/) [Terence McKenna](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terence-mckenna/) > [And what is the primary datum? It's the felt presence of immediate experience. In other words, being here now is the primary datum.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terence-mckenna/and-what-is-the-primary-datum-it-s-the-felt-presence-of-immediate/) [Terence McKenna](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terence-mckenna/) > [Our culture difinitely takes an egocentric dominator view. The fear of the psychedelic experience is quite literally the fear of losing control. Dominator types…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terence-mckenna/our-culture-difinitely-takes-an-egocentric-dominator-view-the-fear-of/) [Terence McKenna](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terence-mckenna/) > [Every step into freedom contains within it the potential for greater bondage.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terence-mckenna/every-step-into-freedom-contains-within-it-the-potential-for-greater/) [Terence McKenna](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terence-mckenna/) > [This is the message of your life and my life - it’s that nothing lasts. Heraclitus said it: Panta Rhei. All flows, nothing lasts.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terence-mckenna/this-is-the-message-of-your-life-and-my-life-it-s-that-nothing-lasts/) [Terence McKenna](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terence-mckenna/) > [I often like to think that our map of the world is wrong, that where we have centered physics, we should actually place literature…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terence-mckenna/i-often-like-to-think-that-our-map-of-the-world-is-wrong-that-where/) [Terence McKenna](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terence-mckenna/) > [Knowledge, or verbal facility, is no proof that you know what you're talking about.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terence-mckenna/knowledge-or-verbal-facility-is-no-proof-that-you-know-what-you-re/) [Terence McKenna](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terence-mckenna/) > [No culture on earth is as heavily narcotized as the industrial West in terms of being inured to the consequences of maladaptive behavior. We…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terence-mckenna/no-culture-on-earth-is-as-heavily-narcotized-as-the-industrial-west/) [Terence McKenna](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terence-mckenna/) > [Man was not put on this planet to toil in the mud. Or the god who put us on this planet to toil in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terence-mckenna/man-was-not-put-on-this-planet-to-toil-in-the-mud-or-the-god-who-put/) [Terence McKenna](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terence-mckenna/) > [If you take psychedelics and the Internet and music and put all of that together you have the basis for a new community that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terence-mckenna/if-you-take-psychedelics-and-the-internet-and-music-and-put-all-of/) [Terence McKenna](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terence-mckenna/) [Explore all 745 Terence McKenna quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terence-mckenna/) ## More Identity quotes > [I don't doubt that straight white men have identity issues and identity complexes and struggle with defining themselves.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/justin-simien/i-don-t-doubt-that-straight-white-men-have-identity-issues-and/) [Justin Simien](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/justin-simien/) > [In the hearing world, I'm constantly having to lip-read and trying to understand what's going on. Sign language is so beautiful. It gives you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rose-ayling-ellis/in-the-hearing-world-i-m-constantly-having-to-lip-read-and-trying-to/) [Rose Ayling-Ellis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rose-ayling-ellis/) > [I think the next 50 years are going to present the human race with challenges that so far exceed the limitations of geopolitical boundaries…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zachary-quinto/i-think-the-next-50-years-are-going-to-present-the-human-race-with/) [Zachary Quinto](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zachary-quinto/) > [You have expressive nationalism, I mean very identity driven, which shaped each other a lot of that in the Middle East.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/subrahmanyam-jaishankar/you-have-expressive-nationalism-i-mean-very-identity-driven-which/) [Subrahmanyam Jaishankar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/subrahmanyam-jaishankar/) > [Family over friends, because real friends are family](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/family-over-friends-because-real-friends-are-family/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I think everybody, or the great majority of human beings, have this aspiration to become other: to live a different identity, at least for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mario-vargas-llosa/i-think-everybody-or-the-great-majority-of-human-beings-have-this/) [Mario Vargas Llosa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mario-vargas-llosa/) > [The language we share is at the core of our identity as citizens, and our ticket to full participation in American political life. We…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/s-i-hayakawa/the-language-we-share-is-at-the-core-of-our-identity-as-citizens-and/) [S. I. Hayakawa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/s-i-hayakawa/) > [Tell me how much a nation knows about its own language, and I will tell you how much that nation knows about its own…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-ciardi/tell-me-how-much-a-nation-knows-about-its-own-language-and-i-will/) [John Ciardi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-ciardi/) > [I think that most of us, anyway, read these stories that we know are not "true" because we're hungry for another kind of truth:…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/orson-scott-card/i-think-that-most-of-us-anyway-read-these-stories-that-we-know-are/) [Orson Scott Card](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/orson-scott-card/) > [“In the worldly life, due to maadakta (intoxication of the ego of ‘I am Chandubhai’), one has completely lost awareness of everything about one’s…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dada-bhagwan/in-the-worldly-life-due-to-maadakta-intoxication-of-the-ego-of-i-am/) [Dada Bhagwan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dada-bhagwan/) > [“At the moment, then, of Man’s victory over Nature, we find the whole human race subjected to some individual men, and those individuals subjected…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/c-s-lewis-2/at-the-moment-then-of-man-s-victory-over-nature-we-find-the-whole/) [C.S. Lewis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/c-s-lewis-2/) > [She might be without country, without nation, but inside her there was still a being that could exist and be free, that could simply…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sharon-maas/she-might-be-without-country-without-nation-but-inside-her-there-was/) [Sharon Maas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sharon-maas/) > [“Self-realization or self-knowing or awakening is about knowing/ becoming conscious of our true nature and living in harmony with the universe in an ever…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-vazhakunnathu/self-realization-or-self-knowing-or-awakening-is-about-knowing/) [Thomas Vazhakunnathu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-vazhakunnathu/) > [“There are some things that one individual can do for another, and there are some things that one race can do for another. But,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/booker-t-washington/there-are-some-things-that-one-individual-can-do-for-another-and/) [Booker T. Washington](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/booker-t-washington/) > [“Why were there no words that spoke positively about being concerned about the self? Why was there only negative connotation in terms like "selfish",…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/a-j-dalton/why-were-there-no-words-that-spoke-positively-about-being-concerned/) A.J. Dalton [Browse all 11,949 Identity quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/identity/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "How can we know who is the other until we know who is the self?", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Terence McKenna" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terence-mckenna/how-can-we-know-who-is-the-other-until-we-know-who-is-the-self/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Identity" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terence-mckenna/how-can-we-know-who-is-the-other-until-we-know-who-is-the-self/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4c8/terence-mckenna-287_identity_how-can-we-know-who-is-the-other-until-w_1249375.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4c8/terence-mckenna-287_identity_how-can-we-know-who-is-the-other-until-w_1249375.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4c8/terence-mckenna-287_identity_how-can-we-know-who-is-the-other-until-w_1249375.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“How can we know who is the other until we know who is the self?” — Terence McKenna", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Terence McKenna", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terence-mckenna/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "How can we know who is...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terence-mckenna/how-can-we-know-who-is-the-other-until-we-know-who-is-the-self/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terence-mckenna/how-can-we-know-who-is-the-other-until-we-know-who-is-the-self/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```