When to use soi vs soi-même

Question

Il faut toujours essayer ... avant de juger. I used soi since I read this to be a universal self where soi is used. Why is it soi-même? What’s the rule to differentiate when using On to mean universal, we the people, etc? I used soi in a previous question using On and it was correct. Thanks.

Cécile Janty-Davies · Accepted Answer

Hi Liz, 
This one is interesting as it would be -
Il faut toujours essayer soi-même, avant de juger = You must always try yourself, before judging ( loose translation!)
On n'est jamais si bien servi que par soi-même = If you want something done right, do it yourself 
But you would use soi with on 
 
on n'a pas de préjugés en soi = we don't have prejudice as such 
on va chacun chez soi = we each go to our own home
avoir confiance en soi = to be self-confident 
Hope these examples help!

Chris Wirt · Answer

That question has been answered before. Check here: https://french.kwiziq.com/questions/view/how-to-know-when-to-use-soi-or-soi-meme-to-say-oneself