"I know that I know nothing" is a saying derived from

Plato Plato ( ; Greek language, Greek: , ; born BC, died 348/347 BC) was an ancient Greek philosopher of the Classical Greece, Classical period who is considered a foundational thinker in Western philosophy and an innovator of the writte ...

's account of the Greek

philosopher Philosophy ('love of wisdom' in Ancient Greek) is a systematic study of general and fundamental questions concerning topics like existence, reason, knowledge, Value (ethics and social sciences), value, mind, and language. It is a rational an ...

Socrates Socrates (; ; – 399 BC) was a Ancient Greek philosophy, Greek philosopher from Classical Athens, Athens who is credited as the founder of Western philosophy and as among the first moral philosophers of the Ethics, ethical tradition ...

: ''"For I was conscious that I knew practically nothing..."'' (Plato, Apology 22d, translated by Harold North Fowler, 1966). It is also sometimes called the Socratic paradox, although this name is often instead used to refer to other seemingly paradoxical claims made by Socrates in Plato's dialogues (most notably, Socratic intellectualism and the Socratic fallacy). This saying is also connected or conflated with the answer to a question Socrates (according to

Xenophon Xenophon of Athens (; ; 355/354 BC) was a Greek military leader, philosopher, and historian. At the age of 30, he was elected as one of the leaders of the retreating Ancient Greek mercenaries, Greek mercenaries, the Ten Thousand, who had been ...

) or Chaerephon (according to Plato) is said to have posed to the

Pythia Pythia (; ) was the title of the high priestess of the Temple of Apollo (Delphi), Temple of Apollo at Delphi. She specifically served as its oracle and was known as the Oracle of Delphi. Her title was also historically glossed in English as th ...

, the

Oracle of Delphi An oracle is a person or thing considered to provide insight, wise counsel or prophecy, prophetic predictions, most notably including precognition of the future, inspired by Deity, deities. If done through occultic means, it is a form of divina ...

, in which the oracle stated something to the effect of "Socrates is the wisest person in

Athens Athens ( ) is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Greece, largest city of Greece. A significant coastal urban area in the Mediterranean, Athens is also the capital of the Attica (region), Attica region and is the southe ...

." Socrates, believing the oracle but also completely convinced that he knew nothing, was said to have concluded that ''nobody'' knew anything, and that he was only wiser than others because he was the only person who recognized his own ignorance.

Etymology

The phrase, originally from

Latin Latin ( or ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic languages, Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally spoken by the Latins (Italic tribe), Latins in Latium (now known as Lazio), the lower Tiber area aroun ...

("'"), is a possible paraphrase from a Greek text (see below). It is also quoted as "'" or "'". It was later back-translated to Katharevousa Greek as "", 'hèn oîda hóti''''oudèn oîda'').

In Plato

This is technically a shorter paraphrasing of Socrates' statement, "I neither know nor think I know" (in Plato, ''Apology'' 21d). The paraphrased saying, though widely attributed to Plato's Socrates in both ancient and modern times, actually occurs nowhere in Plato's works in precisely the form "I know I know nothing." Two prominent Plato scholars have recently argued that the claim should not be attributed to Plato's Socrates. Evidence that Socrates does not actually claim to know nothing can be found at ''Apology'' 29b-c, where he claims twice to know something. See also ''Apology'' 29d, where Socrates indicates that he is so confident in his claim to knowledge at 29b-c that he is willing to die for it. That said, in the ''

Apology Apology, The Apology, apologize/apologise, apologist, apologetics, or apologetic may refer to: Common uses * Apology (act), an expression of remorse or regret * Apologia, a formal defense of an opinion, position, or action Arts, entertainment ...

'', Plato relates that Socrates accounts for his seeming wiser than any other person because he does not imagine that he knows what he does not know.Plato, ''Apology'' 21d.

... I seem, then, in just this little thing to be wiser than this man at any rate, that what I do not know I do not think I know either. enry Cary literal translation of 1897

A more commonly used translation puts it,

Although I do not suppose that either of us knows anything really beautiful and good, I am better off than he is – for he knows nothing, and thinks he knows. I neither know nor think I know. nowiki/>Benjamin Jowett translation">Benjamin_Jowett.html" ;"title="nowiki/>Benjamin Jowett">nowiki/>Benjamin Jowett translation

Regardless, the context in which this passage occurs is the same, independently of any specific translation. That is, Socrates having gone to a "wise" man, and having discussed with him, withdraws and thinks the above to himself. Socrates, since he denied any kind of knowledge, then tried to find someone wiser than himself among politicians, poets, and craftsmen. It appeared that politicians claimed wisdom without knowledge; poets could touch people with their words, but did not know their meaning; and craftsmen could claim knowledge only in specific and narrow fields. The interpretation of the Oracle's answer might be Socrates' awareness of his own ignorance. Socrates also deals with this phrase in Plato's dialogue ''Meno'' when he says:

So now I do not know what virtue is; perhaps you knew before you contacted me, but now you are certainly like one who does not know. (George Grube, G. M. A. Grube translation)

Here, Socrates aims at the change of Meno's opinion, who was a firm believer in his own opinion and whose claim to knowledge Socrates had disproved. It is essentially the question that begins " post-Socratic" Western philosophy. Socrates begins all wisdom with wondering, thus one must begin with admitting one's ignorance. After all, Socrates' dialectic method of teaching was based on that he as a teacher knew nothing, so he would derive knowledge from his students by dialogue. There is also a passage by

Diogenes Laërtius Diogenes Laërtius ( ; , ; ) was a biographer of the Greek philosophers. Little is definitively known about his life, but his surviving book ''Lives and Opinions of Eminent Philosophers'' is a principal source for the history of ancient Greek ph ...

in his work '' Lives and Opinions of Eminent Philosophers'' written hundreds of years after Plato, where he lists, among the things that Socrates used to say: "", or "that he knew nothing except that he knew that very fact (i.e. that he knew nothing)". Again, closer to the quote, there is a passage in Plato's ''Apology'', where Socrates says that after discussing with someone he started thinking that:

I am wiser than this man, for neither of us appears to know anything great and good; but he fancies he knows something, although he knows nothing; whereas I, as I do not know anything, do not fancy I do. In this trifling particular, then, I appear to be wiser than he, because I do not fancy I know what I do not know.

It is also a curiosity that there is more than one passage in the narratives in which Socrates claims to have knowledge on some topic, for instance on love:

How could I vote 'No,' when the only thing I say I understand is the art of love? (τὰ ἐρωτικά) I know virtually nothing, except a certain small subject – love (τῶν ἐρωτικῶν), although on this subject, I'm thought to be amazing (δεινός), better than anyone else, past or present.

Alternative usage

"Socratic paradox" may also refer to statements of Socrates that seem contrary to common sense, such as that "no one desires evil". The words of the apostle St. Paul are also found paralleling this saying in , "''Anyone who claims to know something does not yet have the necessary knowledge."''

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:I Know That I Know Nothing Philosophical phrases Socrates Self-referential paradoxes Ignorance