Do we have a term for knowing-oneself?
In many psychological, religious, and ethical theories it's been suggested that you know yourself, through contemplation, cognition, etc.
It's like trying to recognize who you really are deep inside, and why you do what you do, stuff like that.
But do we have a name for this knowing yourself?
Update: I'm searching for a universally recognized name, and to clarify even more, if theology means knowing God, I'm searching for something like you ology, or to know yourself.
Satori refers to “A sudden inexpressible feeling of inner understanding or enlightenment”. While feeling of such understanding obviously may be different from having it, satori often refers to the latter.
Note, enlightenment itself is a consequence of “achieving clarity of perception, reason and knowledge”. Also see epiphany, “An illuminating realization or discovery, often resulting in a personal feeling of elation, awe, or wonder”.
According to the Free Dictionary, the word you are looking for is autology. I would read it as "the study of one's self" as I would read theology as the study of God.
Since you seem to be looking for a name for the process of "knowing oneself through contemplation etc.", there are a few terms that may fit the bill.
- Self-realisation (religious/spiritual term)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Self-realization
- Self-actualisation (psychological term)
to realize fully one's potential
- Individuation (psychological term)
the act or process of individuating: as a (1) : the development of the individual from the universal (2) : the determination of the individual in the general
I believe finding who you are by exa examining the way we do things in life and choices we make the best definition for a single or plural to word answer would be a "moral inventory"
"Nosce te ipsum" is a saying which has been thrown around quite a bit; though it's not necessarily a term, it's an aphorism, so if you're looking for a word which captures the essence of "knowing thyself", this may not be it, but it might be helpful to know that it (gnoscere) is the root of "cognisance (cognizance)", according to Dictionary.com and Wikipedia.
It was more widely used in the 1820-1840's than it is now though, according to Google's Ngram viewer.
