ABSTRACT
The Delphic precept of know thyself has often been invoked as a maxim for the therapeutic situation. This maxim, far from indicating an interiorized search for oneself, was originally a recommendation of prudence that encompassed a three-fold meaning: to avoid excesses, not to undertake more than is possible, and carefully examine the questions proposed to the oracle and to life. The immediate object of caring for oneself is the subject, but its final purpose is the city, meaning the social and everyday relationships with others. The notion of loving care implies a type of self-observation that has the objective of deciphering oneself. Caritas therefore emphasizes knowing oneself in order to master oneself and to be known in order to be cared for, and it concludes with self-renunciation. The relationship of power over oneself is symmetrical but not proportional to the relationship of one’s power over others.
