In his early years, he was bent on becoming a philosopher, trying to solve the most fundamental of human propositions - existence. However, he soon came to the dramatic conclusion that the possibility of understanding the mysterious realm of life could hardly exist, because one must first be able to see oneself objectively, and the problem was that one could not do this.
Thus, he concluded that one cannot always be free from one's own point of view about the object under consideration, so that one's thought process cannot acquire an independent point of view to provide a basis for judgement or an understanding of existence. This conclusion has had a profound impact on both his philosophical outlook and his perspective on the financial markets.
The result of the inability to arrive at an independent point of view is that one cannot penetrate the skin of the matter and arrive at the truth without bias. In other words, the knowability of absolute perfection is quite questionable. As Soros argues, what one knows cannot be knowledge when one attempts to inquire into one's own circumstances.
Soros deduced the logic that because human knowledge is flawed, the most practical thing he could do was to focus on the gaps and distortions in human knowledge of all things - a logic that later formed the core of his financial strategy.
It is normal for people to be incomprehensible about market movements, but when the vast majority of investors in a market agree on the influence of fundamentals and are intent on continuing the speculation, this perception is on the verge of danger. With Soros' philosophical view, it is easy to find out why there are failed fifth waves in the market and why they are often followed by V-shaped reversals.
Here, we will not comment on Soros’s philosophical outlook, but aim to discuss the primary problem that a successful investor should solve, which is his world view and methodology, which will enable him to stand on a higher perspective, with a broader vision, dialectical thinking to view the market, always keep a clear head, in case of panic, calmly respond, and ultimately achieve success.
