Wednesday, January 14, 2009

Blog #7 - Must you know yourself to function in society?

Must a person truly know themselves to be able to fully functionappropriately in society?


Support your answer. For this blog assignment you MUST only comment on other people IF you disagree with them.

Due Date : Thursday January 22nd @ 6:00pm

79 comments:

Marcos Jose Rodriguez said...

Of course yes...

Only when you know yourself, your interests and culture, you get to function in society.

It is true that a person, even without knowing herself, can certainly be accepted into a society. But it is only when you know yourself, that you learn what part of your personality or culture needs to be changed or modified, in order to interact successfully with certain people, that form part of a society, and get what you need from that interation in order to be successfull.

It is only when you learn that you are extreeeeemely hyper, that you figure out that you need to reduce sugar and caffeine consuption in order to interact successfully...
...thought, the fact that you know yourself doesn't mean you need to apply those drastic changes...

Me

Cristina said...

I believe that this is true. If you don't know who you are, you wont be able to do the things you like and when you like and your cycle in society will never move, so it would like if you weren't living. you must know yourself and your rights so that you can defend yourself, because if you don't know yourself you wont know what to defend and why.

Samantha Lehr said...

I think that to function in society you definitely need to know yourself. If you don't know who you are as a person, how will you know where you fit in society?

For example: if you don't know what you want your future career to be how will you know what colleges to choose, or what your major should be. You won't know where you belong. But if you DO know, then you will know where to go and what people to surround yourself with.

Marcos: I agree that you need to know yourself to function in society, but I disagree with you when you when you say you need to change yourself. If you know who you are as a person, you should surround yourself with other people like yourself. Because if you change those things that make you who you are, then how can you be yourself?

Anonymous said...

I believe that yes, in order to function appropriatly in society you must know yourself so you know what you want to grow up to be.For example, if you don't know what career you want, and you just pick one and dedicate yourself to it, but you don't like it, you will not give 100% there, because you would prefer to spend your time on other things.

LyanneSantana said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
LyanneSantana said...

Cristina, I will have to disagree with you. To function in society you don't have to know yourself, you can interact and function just by knowing what you were taught about society. You can always stick to others ideas and elaborate them with other things you know or learned. I believe that not everybody knows who they really are and what their soul has inside. They don't know if they really are how they are or if they are just what they think they have to be.

LyanneSantana said...

Samantha, I disagree with you. A person can fit and function well in society without knowing what they really are inside. They can always choose a career based on what they think is best for them and based of what they stand out in school and do best. To choose your career you don't have to know what is inside, what your soul has, you just have to know what your mind knows and consider the careers that are more suitable for their knowledge.

Marcos Jose Rodriguez said...

OK Samantha, I respect your point of view about my comment.

but, I DISAGREE... (!)

At some moment it is hard to change some sort of thing in you, especially the personality, but some aspects of your life, sometimes, need to be changed in order, not only to fit into a society but to change as a person and have a better lifestyle.

If one, instead of changing a bad habit, gets surrounded by other people who share that bad habit, the result would be completely catastrophic.

Even thought one could actually "function" in that "micro-society" or niche, of extreeeemely hyper coke and candy addicted people, that wouldn't count as functioning in a society, as you are actually isolating yourself from the rest of non-hyper people.

And, you would need to be really lucky to find a super hyper broker, doctor, pizza man, and repairman to interact with when you need to buy a house, examine health issues, eat, or fix the broken TV.

Society is super diverse, and for functioning in it, one needs to have the ability of adapting, adjusting and being flexible.

me again

LyanneSantana said...

I believe that you don't really have to know yourself to function in society. If you look around and see the people that surround you, you'll see that many of them are still trying to find themselves. Many people in our society don't really know themselves and they interact and socialize with others. Maybe they don't have a definite personality or stick to the same ideas others say, but they still have a say and function fully in society.

MariaCristina said...

A person doesn't have to know himself in order to be able to function in society. But without fully comprehending who they really are, their interaction with others wouldn't be as effective as it should be. For example, lets say I become a doctor just because I didn't know what else to study. But as time passes I start to realize that that wasn't what I really wanted to be in life. So then in my work I become a mediocre doctor just because I don't like it, and as a consequence I might damage someone's health. But if at the time of deciding what to study I knew who I wanted to be, I would have been a successful "whatever" and done great in my job and that would have brought a positive effect on society .

jacopo said...

i think that a person must truly know themselves to be able to fully function appropriately in society because if you dont know who you are then you wont be able to show your true self to others. by knowing yourself you know what goals you want in life and you learn how to interact with the people with similar aspects as yours, letting everyone to accomplish their goals.

MariaCristina said...

LYANNE: I agree and disagree with you. I agree with the fact that someone doesn't have to know themself in order to function in society. BUT one won't function as SUCCESSFULLY as one would if one really would have known who one really is.

Samantha Lehr said...

Lyanne: But isn't knowing what you are good at and what is best for you a part of truley knowing yourself? No matter what, it always comes down to knowing who you are.

Marcos: I see what you mean and I agree with the fact that people should change bad habits. But you agreed that to function in society you need to know who you are, why would you take the time to learn who you are if you are just going to change and conform?

LyanneSantana said...

Samantha, Knowing what you are good and what you are not is not trully knowing yourself. The fact that you have the ability and distress of being good at math or any subject doesnt reveal you real self.

Cristina said...

LYANNE:
i understand you point of view, but i disagree. if you just stick to the ideas of others, then you wouldnt be living your life, you would be living a life that others created for you.

Moises said...

yes because if you dont know yoursel you cant function because if u dont know how you work you cant live in a society that works diffrently

LyanneSantana said...

Marcri, you can be succesful in life, have a great industry and have a wife that you love and have all you wish and still not know yourself. You could be good at something by the knowlage that you were taught, but still dont know what YOU really think. You just follow the flow and stick to the ideas that others believe.

Moises said...

lyanne i belive your wrong i agree with cristina

jacopo said...

lyanne im going to have to disagree with you because i think that in order to function appropriately in society you must know who you really are. if you dont know who you are then you wont be showing your true self to others, then neither you nor the people around you will know your true self

Ana Gonzalez said...

I think you can function in society only if you know yourself because if you dont know yourself then you cant interact with others. people who don't know themselves can't do what they like or wish because they dont trust themselves. if you dont trsut yourself you cany achieve things by yourself because you will need help from other because you dont trust what you do.

Ernesto said...

For me, in order to function properly in society, you must know yourself entirely. I say this because when you fully know yourself, you know how you will act around other people and how to interact with all the people you meet in society.

Elaine Carlson said...

Yes, you must know yourself to function in society. You may not know who you are very well and still be part of society, but you would be confused, you woudn't know where to fit in or even what people you like to hang with. If you want to really function in society and fit in you must first know yourself, but to know yourself you don't need to go to some extremes like Henry Thoreau did, but you can take some time to get to know you. Then, when you have accomplished that you will know how to fit in society and what you want to be and how you want to work your way through it.

LyanneSantana said...

Cristina, many people are living a life that others created for them and are still succesful and function fully in society. Many succesful man have the life they have because of the ideas that were planted in them, by thing they had heard before.

marcel said...

i believe that you do need to know yourself in order to function in society. i say this because if you do not know who you are, what are your interests nor personality, then the group of people in the society will not be addecuate for you. you should be able to identify youself with those.


LYANNE- i disagree with you. because for example for you to like a carrer you first have to know yourself to be able to identify who you really are and define your tastes. ( what you like and what you dont like )

LyanneSantana said...

Jacopo, many people dont know themselves and still function in society. They appear to be someone they dont really are and still function fully in society. They may not know their true self but they can do everything by what they were taught.

Elaine Carlson said...

Macri: I think you are contradicting yourself. You say that one can be more effective in society if you know yourself. In the example you gave you demonstrated how the doctor would fail if he didn't know what he wanted to be at all. That isn't effective AT ALL!

Arantxa Chahin said...

I think it is very importants to know yourself to function in society. This is because if you dont know yourself you wont know where you fit in and you wont know with which people you can make freinds with.

Like for example: there are many cases of people who want to be's... they want to be people they are not just because they want to be popular. This happens in many cases because these people dont know themselves.
And its important to know yourself so people can see how you really are so they can accept you for the person you are, and so people dont get the wrong idea about you.

Lyanne: I agree with you, but sometimes it is good to know yourself to function in society beacuse there are many people that dont like others being one way with them and with others they are another way. So it actually is important, but not essential to function in socienty. If dont know yourself ok and if you do much better.

wanda said...

In society, one would need to know whom he/she truly is in order to function in it properly. Knowing yourself will allow a understanding on where you belong in society and also what you should do in it: it helps on learning what you are good at or what you like and how you can contribute doing it in your best manner, because it is what you like. For example: a person that knows that he likes animals and is good in taking care of them or treating them, then that person would have a choice of becoming a veterinarian; he will be good at it, because he likes it and by doing it he will enjoy himself. Therefore, a person knows where he/she belongs when he/she gets to know himself truly.

Ana Gonzalez said...

I agree with you Lyanne but lets say that they can interact with people. but what about when they want to achieve their goals?

Manuel Perez said...

No, not really. The truth, as cinical as it sounds, is that sometimes it is easier to not know yourself in order to interact with society. Not only is it easier, but some elements of society actually want that. To discover who you really are may mean rebellion to everything that you are told, everything that people want to believe. Emmerson was right: great people are misunderstood becase they think for themselves, and they eventually speak against what conformity tells us to believe.

So, is it necessary to know yourself to function in society? No, even though it doesn't guarantee you will live life in the fullest.

MariaCristina said...

LYANNE: Yes it is true but what kind of life is one where you live doing something you don't really like? And talking about the same guy you mentioned, you're insinuating his wife doesn't really know who he is? What kind of marriage is that? Personally I prefer living a life where I am who I am instead of living a lie where I don't know myself.

Carla said...

A person must not truly know themselves to be able to fully function appropriately in society. It is not necessary to know yourself truly to do the things a society needs to function, it would be better if that person did but not necessary. To do something, be it helping in the community, being a good neighbor, picking up the trash, getting to fully know your self is not essential, recommendable yes but it’s not indispensable. It is recommendable because when someone gets to truly know themselves, they really get to appreciate and value the things that surround them making them do things better for their society.

LyanneSantana said...

Marcel, to know what you are good at you just have to look at the results and way of acting. I believe that many of us, including me, dont really know ourselves and still function fully in society. For example, if you are good at math and you choose to be an architect you will do well and succes, you dont have to know yourself to make this choice.

Adriana said...

I believe you must know yourself to function correctly in society. If you dont know yourself you cant act correctly because you dont understand how you would act. Also it depends who you are to know what your role would be in society.

MariaCristina said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
wanda said...

Manuel: i believe that following up to what society wants you to follow up, and not having your own ideas, will not allow society to function well. Rebelious ideas are what bring improvement and innovation, so discovering yourself will bring you to contribute with something of your own to a society that does need constant changes.

LyanneSantana said...

Elaine, i disagree with you because many of us dont really know ourselves and still function fully in society. We are good people, do our work good and help others and still dont know ourselves. Knowing ourself dont interfere in the actions and deeds that we do.

marcel said...

LYANNE- yes.. but knowing that you like math.. and that you are good at it is part of knowing yourself.. and by this you can be able to function in society.

JavierAude said...

Not really. It always depends in what type of society you live. If you live in a comformist and mediocre society, for example poor areas, you dont really need to know yourself.
Yet, if you live in a trascendentalist non-comformist society you must truely know yourself to work efficiently. If you dont know yourself and you wont be able to work to your fullest.

LyanneSantana said...

Macri, If you dont know yourself you dont know what you really like, you just go with the flow and stick to others ideas.

Elaine Carlson said...

lyanne you are right some people don't know thereselves and still form a part of society. But, you said that knowing yourself doesn't interfere in the deed or action that we do, but it does interfere in what we WANT to do not what we must do.

LyanneSantana said...

Marcel, you know that you are GOOD at math, thats why you like it. Its not part of knowing yourself.

MariaCristina said...

ELAINE: I think you should re-read it. I said I became a mediocre doctor because I didn't know what else to be. I helped some people but I also harmed a lot of them. If I had known what I wanted to be in life, I would have become something better. I am not contradicting myself because I'm stating that by not knowing yourself you can still give "something" positive to society. But that by truly knowing who you are you become better and could even change the world.

Ernesto said...

Maria Cristina I'll have to disagree with you because I feel that in order to function well in society you have to know yourself because if you don't know yourself, you are not going to know how to interact with other people and you are not going to trust yourself in the making of important decisions.

MariaCristina said...

ERNESTO: But you can also function in society without knowing who you are, not as effective, but its doable.

Manuel Perez said...

Wanda:
I agree with you entirely, except that society will not function without change. That is not really true. It may function badly, but it still works. society doesn't even want change. I never said that it was good to not know yourself, but it does work. Many people spend their entire lives without discovering themselves as good members of society.

wanda said...

MARCOS:

I COMPLETETELY DISAGREE WITH YOU.

Because, you not always need to change something about you.

Adriana said...

LYANNE:..i understand what you are saying, but to function 100% you have to know yourself and know what you like and what you dont. If you dont know yourself you cant know what you like or not and your role in society wont be

jacopo said...

yeah lyanne but they won't function as good as they should

Manuel Perez said...

Javier:
Basically, I agree with your ideas. It is true that people change with their society. However, there are sadly no truly transcendentalist societies, although it would be an ideal one.

Memo said...

I believe that you do not need to know yourself to function in society. You can go around lost, but still work and do something, like some big business men, and some people that are lost. They still are successful persons that have accomplished great thing and have build wonderful enterprises, but have a disorganized life and are totally messed up and do not know who they are and what is there purpose, ad have still manage to perform and function in society.

Memo said...

Wanda. You do not need to know yourself to function in society. It is true that for you to be a better person and have a balance in life you need to know yourself, but not knowing yourself will let you perform normally. A balance life is totally different from performance. We are not talking about the quality of performance and how good they are, we are talking about if they are going to be able to function, period.

LyanneSantana said...

Adriana and Jacopo, I believe that they will function well in society, maybe not by thinking by themselves, but with others ideas.

Tony said...

I believe you don't have to know yourself to function in society. Daily we cross paths with teenagers like us and many other different types of people with a variety backgrounds and histories. We all function in society by following the rules set before us. In that manner we have consistency in doing our everyday hobbies, work, and other, but we don't always function on our 100% on society. So I believe that to function on a 100% on society you do need to know yourself.

jacopo said...

antonio i disagree with you because i believe that in order for a person to function correctly in society he first must know who he is. if a person doesnt know who he really is and what he wants in life, then he wont be able to live the life he really wants

Tony said...

Cristina but when you are functioning no matter if its on the ideas of others you are still functioning and doing your part in society.

Tony said...

Jacopo, but u function in society don't you? Can you honestly say that you know yourself then? Well mister you do function in society as we all do. We do what has being set for us, got to school, graduate and get a job. We are doing our part, but if you really knew your self you would do things in your fullest potential.

MariaCristina said...

JACOPO: I agree and disagree with you. I agree with the fact that one must know who one is to function effectively in society, but one can also function without knowing yourself, just not as EFFECTIVE.

jacopo said...

ernesto i completely agree with you

macri i still think it is better to know yourself so you can function correctly in society

Ernesto said...

Jacopo I'm glad we agree about this because people need to constantly try to find who he/she really is to function in society and in life. Especially in tough times or in times when you have to help other people through moral values and motivation. For example you cannot motivate someone else if you are not self-motivated or in control of your life.

JavierAude said...

ERNESTO:
I do believe you must truely know yourself to function properly.
With what i don't agree is that this has anything to do woth your interaction with other people. Non-comformist ten to be self centered aovoiding contanct with comformist and mediocre people.

JavierAude said...

Manuel:
I don't entirely agree with you. I do believe that not everyone in a society is trancendentalist, though i do believe in the existance of a transcendentalist society. Not only that i believe the world is transcendentalist. All nations are looking always for something better, may it be on the technology aspect or on the economic aspect.

wanda said...

MANUEL: yes it will work without a change, but as you said, it will do so badly. i agree that it will work good not knowing yourself, but if you do know yourself it will work even better.

wanda said...

MEMO: Maybe that big business man found out what he is good at, and he is able to accomplish those great things because he enjoys doing it. He is not lost at all afterall; atleast he has to know one thing about him, and maybe he know what he wants and likes. Being able to function is not about doing something though you are doing it bad, it is about doing something that lets you make a good contribution to society.

LyanneSantana said...

Moises, WHY do you believe i'm wrong?

Cristina said...

Carla, I believe that you are mistaken. I think that the statement is true, because society’s cycle will never move since people won’t be able to do what they want nor defend their rights.

Carla said...

Cristina, I am not saying that people do not need to know of their rights or the things they want to, all I am saying is that you don’t really need to truly know yourself to do this. Someone doesn’t have to live in nature for a while to be able to make society function.

Carla said...

Wanda, you say that knowing yourself will allow a person to understand where he is in society and what you should do in it, yes it would allow a person but it is not something entirely necessary. I don’t have to truly know myself to know where I belong in society and what I would like to do in it, knowing the things you like or dislike is just a part of knowing yourself, not the whole extent of what is meant when it is said “truly knowing yourself”.

Coki said...

Coki:
i believe that to be useful, you need to know what you are good at so that you could go to a certain group and excel, and do something you actually KNOW how to do because, if you know how to paint, they should put you to paint instead of sending you to a farm or something, they should let you excel at what you know, because you arent going to be a bad farmer when you can be an extremely good artist.
:D

Coki said...

Coki:
i believe that to be useful, you need to know what you are good at so that you could go to a certain group and excel, and do something you actually KNOW how to do because, if you know how to paint, they should put you to paint instead of sending you to a farm or something, they should let you excel at what you know, because you arent going to be a bad farmer when you can be an extremely good artist.
:D

Anonymous said...

Lyanne i disagree with you, i believe that you must know yourself in order to function in society you must know yourslef, for if not you may choose a career in which you have no skill at, or which you do not like, making it hard for you to successfully complete the tasks at hand.

Coki said...

Marcos, i agree with you in ALMOST every thing you said, but i do not agree that you should change somethings about you, because if you change something, then it is not going to be YOU, and i believe that ou should go to other environments if you dont fit in one.

Coki said...

-.- salva just said what i was going to say...
... i believe that lyanne is wrong because you might choose something you dont like and then you would lose motivation and not work at your 100 percent and you would not be so good as others expect you to be, in the other hand, i you dedicate at something you really like, you will really try to give your best and will do it way better than you could imagine.

Anonymous said...

Coki, i disagree with you on the reasons that you give for knowing yourself, although you are right in saying that if you are good at it you should be doing it, you shouldn't say that they put you to it, because if you are good at painting, but do not like it your work might end sloppy, and people cant force you to do things you dont want to do.

Coki said...

but if you think about it hard enough salva, you might see that you dont need to know yourself so exactly and so well, you could only need to know something that you are good at and go for it.

you might not know yourself so well but the part you know about yourself could be the part that you are incredibly good at, or in some cases, incredibly bad at...

Coki said...

I disagree with you salva , because it may be true that you know yourself to do what you like, but you might be mad at what you like, causing you to not function completely well. On the other hand if you know what you are good at you can be successful.

Coki said...

bad at what you like, not mad :p typo:p

Anonymous said...

You may be right at that coki, but as i told you before, what if what you are good at is not something you like, it's like when some people are just naturally good at somehtings, but they dont like those things and dont think that they will grow up to work on that.

Teacher Yorch said...

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