Eckhart TolleNYT Bestselling author of the Power of Now

What Socrates Actually Meant by Know Thyself

15 Aug 2026 · 1 min

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In this brief excerpt, Eckhart Tolle emphasizes that self‑knowledge is the most challenging form of knowledge. He references the ancient Greek philosophers, especially Socrates, whose central maxim—inscribed at the Temple of Delphi—was “Know thyself.” Tolle explains that the Socratic injunction points to a deeper dimension of being beyond the superficial awareness of one’s personality, suggesting that true self‑knowledge must go beyond merely recognizing one’s traits or roles.

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The hardest knowledge obviously is self-knowledge. That's why the ancient Greeks like Plato, Socrates— Socrates, the main one— said his main dictum is know thyself. Know thyself. That is the most important thing in life, Socrates said. And that was inscribed at the Temple of Delphi in ancient Greece. Know thyself. It was pointing to a deeper dimension of who you are, but the real knowing yourself is not just knowing the personality. That's only one level. It's not the deepest level of knowing yourself.