Editing Self-reflection (section)

==History==

===Early writings===
Notions about the status of humanity may be revealed by the [[etymology]] of ancient words for humans. [[Latin]] ''homo'' ([[Proto-Indo-European language|PIE]] ''*dʰǵʰm̥mō'') means "of the earth, earthling", probably in opposition to "celestial" beings. [[Greek language|Greek]] {{lang|grc|ἂνθρωπος}} ([[mycenaean language|mycenaean]] ''*Anthropos'') means "low-eyed", again probably contrasting with a divine perspective.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Willi |first=Andreas |date=2008-09-01 |title=Genitive problems: Mycenaean vs. later Greek |url=http://dx.doi.org/10.13109/glot.2008.84.14.239 |journal=Glotta |volume=84 |issue=1–4 |pages=239–272 |doi=10.13109/glot.2008.84.14.239 |issn=0017-1298|url-access=subscription }}</ref>

From the [[3rd millennium BC|third-millennium]] [[Old Kingdom of Egypt]], [[belief]] in an eternal afterlife of the human [[Egyptian soul|ka]] is documented along with the notion that the actions of a person would be assessed to determine the quality of that existence. A claim of dominance of humanity alongside radical [[pessimism]] because of the frailty and brevity of human [[life]] is asserted in the [[Hebrew Bible]] [[Book of Genesis|Genesis]] 1:28, where dominion of humans is promised, but contrarily, King Solomon who is the alleged author of [[Ecclesiastes]] according to [[Rabbinic literature|rabbinic tradition]],  bewails the vanity of all human effort.<ref>{{Cite journal |date=1958 |title=Book Review: ''Calvin's Doctrine of Man'', by <scp>T. F. Torrance</scp>. Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., Grand Rapids, 1957. 183 pp. $3.00; ''Calvin's Doctrine of the Word and Sacraments'', by <scp>Ronald S. Wallace</scp>. Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., Grand Rapids, 1958. 258 pp. $3.00. |url=http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/002096435801200465 |journal=Interpretation: A Journal of Bible and Theology |volume=12 |issue=4 |pages=501–502 |doi=10.1177/002096435801200465 |issn=0020-9643|url-access=subscription }}</ref>

===Classical antiquity===<!-- This section is linked from [[Diogenes of Sinope]] -->
[[Protagoras]] made the famous claim that humans are "the measure of all things; of what is, that it is; of what is not, that it is not". [[Socrates]] advocated the ancient adage for all humans to "[[Know thyself]]", and gave the (doubtlessly tongue-in-cheek) definition of humans as, "featherless bipeds" ([[Plato]], ''Politicus''). [[Aristotle]] described humans as the "communal animal" (ζῶον πολιτικόν), i.e., emphasizing society-building as a central trait of human nature, and being a [[rational animal|"thought bearer animal"]] ({{lang|grc|ζῶον λόγον ἔχον}}, ''animal rationale'') <ref>{{Cite book |author=Aristotle |title=The Politics (Sinclair T.A.) |place=Baltimore |publisher=Penguin Books |year=1962 |edition=1st}}</ref> a term that also may have inspired the species taxonomy, ''Homo sapiens''.{{citation needed|date=July 2012}}

===Middle Ages===
The dominant world-view of medieval Europe, as directed by the [[Catholic Church]], was that human existence is essentially good and created in "original grace", but because of [[concupiscence]], is marred by [[sin]], and that its aim should be to focus on a beatific vision after [[death]]. The term "original grace" is not a phrase directly derived by the Bible, but is used because it reflects the Catholic Church's interpretation of humanity’s initial state before the Fall. According to St. Augustine, the Fall corrupted this "original grace" and therefore the nature of man. <ref>{{Cite web |date=2022-04-13 |title=Augustine’s teachings on human nature |url=https://alevelphilosophyandreligion.com/ocr-religious-studies/ocr-christianity/augustines-teachings-on-human-nature/#:~:text=Augustine%20claims%20that%20there%20is,contemplating%20the%20origin%20of%20sin. |access-date=2024-12-14 |website=A Level Philosophy & Religious Studies |language=en-US}}</ref>

The thirteenth century pope [[Pope Innocent III|Innocent III]] wrote about the essential misery of earthly existence in his "On the misery of the human condition"—a view that was disputed by, for example, [[Giannozzo Manetti]] in his treatise "On human dignity".{{citation needed|date=July 2012}}

===Renaissance===
{{See also|Renaissance humanism}}
A famous quote of [[Shakespeare]]'s [[Hamlet]] (II, ii, 115–117), expresses the contrast of human physical beauty, intellectual faculty, and ephemeral nature:
{{Blockquote|What a piece of work is a man! How noble in reason! how infinite in faculties! in form and moving, how express and admirable! in action how like an angel! in apprehension, how like a god! the beauty of the world! the paragon of animals! And yet, to me, what is this quintessence of dust?}}

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[[René Descartes]] famously and succinctly proposed: ''[[Cogito ergo sum]]''<ref>Descartes, René; ''[[Principles of Philosophy|Principia Philosophiae]]'' (1644), Part 1, article 7: "''Ac proinde hæc cognitio, ego cogito, ergo sum, est omnium prima & certissima, quæ cuilibet ordine philosophanti occurrat.''"</ref> (French: "''Je pense donc je suis''"; English: "I think, therefore I am"), not an assessment of humanity, but certainly reflecting a capacity for reasoning as a characteristic of humans, that potentially, could include individual self-reflection.

===Modern era===
The [[The Age of Enlightenment|Enlightenment]] was driven by a renewed conviction, that, in the words of [[Immanuel Kant]], "Man is distinguished above all animals by his self-consciousness, by which he is a 'rational animal'." In conscious opposition to this tradition during the nineteenth century, [[Karl Marx]] defined humans as a "labouring animal" (''animal laborans''). In the early twentieth century, [[Sigmund Freud]] dealt a serious blow to [[positivism]] by postulating that, to a large part, human behaviour is controlled by the [[unconscious mind]]. Freud describes the unconscious mind as the part of the mind containing any repressed images or thoughts too taboo for societal norms. He viewed this part of the mind as essential to the individual as they are restrained primitive impulses and desires.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2024-01-25 |title=Freud's Theory of the Unconscious Mind: The Iceberg Analogy |url=https://www.simplypsychology.org/unconscious-mind.html |access-date=2024-12-14 |language=en-US}}</ref> Joseph Conrad uses the analogy of chemistry to describe how the tiniest idea can stimulate a person during reflection like a "little drop precipitating the process of crystallization in a test tube containing a colourless solution".<ref>{{Citation |last=Conrad |first=Joseph |title=The Secret Agent: A Simple Tale |date=1995 |url=http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/978-1-349-23831-6_2 |work=Joseph Conrad: Three Novels |pages=93–338 |place=London |publisher=Macmillan Education UK |doi=10.1007/978-1-349-23831-6_2 |isbn=978-0-333-61096-1 |access-date=2022-06-01|url-access=subscription }}.</ref>
[[File:Caspar David Friedrich - Wanderer above the sea of fog.jpg|thumb|''[[Wanderer above the Sea of Fog]]'' by [[Caspar David Friedrich]] is a [[Romanticism|romantic]] painting expressing self reflection among other uniquely human experiences]]
Mandatory or advisory periods for reflection are built into some regulatory requirements, for example changes to [[Divorce in England and Wales|divorce law in England and Wales]] adopted in 2022 prescribe a 20-week period of reflection before certain proceedings are concluded,<ref>E-Negotiation Ltd, trading as Amicable, [https://amicable.io/20-week-reflection-period-checklist amicable’s checklist for the 20-week reflection period], published 30 May 2022, accessed 16 February 2023</ref> and the European Union's [[Mortgage Credit Directive]] allows for a seven-day period of reflection before a [[Mortgage loan|mortgage]] offer needs to be accepted.<ref>Vaidya, N., [https://www.bankrate.com/uk/mortgages/how-long-does-a-mortgage-offer-last How long does a mortgage offer last?], [[Uswitch]] Limited, trading as Bankrate, accessed 16 February 2023</ref>