The self-knower has become a hero within many contemporary cultures.
This hero goes by various different titles, including the"
self-insightful/' the "self-actualized/' the "autonomous and mature/'
the "representative of independent thinking/' the "morally virtuous/'
and many more. The common denominators of civilization's preoccupation
with the self- knower are (1) the mundane, popular literature that draws
our attention to our "inner being" and (2) the remarkable intensity of
therapies and quasitherapies that promise insight into the true core of
our inner being. A characteristic example from an extensive, week-or
month-long training course would read, "Come because you want to
discover your self ... . Through Mr. X [the group leaderl, we can
realize our true identities ... . This gives our lives sense and
perspective." We have tried to trace the logic underlying the diverse
self-knower movements and have found three common themes underlying
them. For one, the varieties of theories and treatments associated with
self-knowl- edge are interested exclusively in the appearance of the
self-knower. Each representative of the self-knower school has its own
set of criteria for identifying the self-knowing person, and in tum,
each member of the self-knower school represents certain convictions
about how individuals should be evaluated. For instance, if someone
manifests warmth and char- ity, that person is likely to be pronounced
healthy, adjusted, and self- knowing.