The first step to self knowledge is rejection of the familiar

The stipulation that the first step to self-knowledge is rejection of the familiar is misleading and does not take into account many aspects of attaining self-knowledge. While rejecting the familiar may well be one element of the path to self-knowledge, it is not a given that it will also be the first step. To accept the given assertion may obstruct the path to self-knowledge as well.

Firstly, self-knowledge begins by awareness and observation of our surroundings, our environment and also, ourselves. This cannot be without some preconception of what these are, how one sees it, how one understands them. In other words, these observations are based on how familiar we are with ourselves and our environs. This does not mean that we blindly accept that ‘familiar’, it just means that we analyse it through open conversations and critiques. For example, a person who finds himself in a new country does not have to begin by rejecting all that they know in order to learn more.

Furthermore, we may be led to reject the familiar or to amend it. But that rejection is not a precondition in anyway. A person who finds themselves in a foreign country may initially feel difficult to adapt to the new ways but may adapt oneself to it by amending their mindset or by rejecting old beliefs. In either case, they start from what they already know and move forward thereon. Rejecting the familiar outright is not mandatory.

However, a person has to be willing to reject the familiar so that they can gain self-knowledge – either in new or in modified forms. This willingness to reject is more essential at the beginning because keeping an open mind about the familiar is important part of self-knowledge. A person in a foreign nation, if unwilling to reject the familiar, will definitely find it difficult to adapt or survive well. So, that inclination to change and if need be, reject, is essential to self-knowledge.

Moreover, a person who rejects the familiar right at the first step will have no basis to make new understanding for themselves or for others. This outright rejection of the familiar wrests one from the very tools and constructs that lead to self-knowledge and makes one incapable to juxtapose new conceptions with familiar things – an important step for self-knowledge. A person in a foreign land would be completely lost if they do not have any idea of life, however primitive or incompatible it may be with their newfound environs.

At the same time, using the same old tools to produce new self-knowledge may also not be pragmatic as it may limit our ability to make sense of new realities. A person who is too tightly tied to old familiar ideas may find it extremely difficult to achieve self-knowledge. For such a person, rejection of the familiar may not be easy to induce and hence the familiar may prove to be an impediment. However, that should not force everyone else to reject the familiar as the first step.

In the end, it is the willingness to reject the familiar that is the first step to self-knowledge. The actual rejection may or may not be a part of it depending on how good the ‘familiar’ is in understanding ourselves. While rejection may well be the need as we go along, it is inappropriate to profess that one needs to reject the familiar as the first step to self-knowledge. It is not just dis-empowering to the individual but also unappreciative of the importance of the familiar in the path to self-knowledge.