The quote which you mention is a loose paraphrase of a portion of
Plato's "Apology", in which Socrates questions the wisdom of a person
who is reputed to be wise:
"...I went to one who had the reputation of wisdom, and observed to
him - his name I need not mention; he was a politician whom I selected
for examination - and the result was as follows: When I began to talk
with him, I could not help thinking that he was not really wise,
although he was thought wise by many, and wiser still by himself; and
I went and tried to explain to him that he thought himself wise, but
was not really wise; and the consequence was that he hated me, and his
enmity was shared by several who were present and heard me. So I left
him, saying to myself, as I went away: Well, 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 that he
knows. I neither know nor think that I know."
Internet Classics Archive: Apology by Plato (Translated by Benjamin Jowett)
http://classics.mit.edu/Plato/apology.1b.txt
Here is another translation of the same passage:
I went to one of those seeming to be wise,
because there, if anywhere, I should refute the divination
and show to the oracle, 'This one is wiser than I,
but you said it was me.'
So examining this one,---for I should not tell his name,
but he was one of the politicians in whose presence
I had this kind of experience, Athenian men,---
and discussing with him this man seemed to be wise
to many other people and especially to himself,
but it seemed to me not to be so;
and then I tried to show him
that he thought he was wise, but he was not.
So as a result I was hated by him
and by many of those present;
and so going away I said to myself,
'I am wiser than this person;
for it is likely that neither of us
knows anything good and beautiful,
but he thinks he knows something not knowing,
while I, as one who does not know, do not think that I do."
Sanderson Beck: APOLOGIA SOKRATOUS (Translated by Sanderson Beck)
http://www.san.beck.org/Apology.html
A brief description of the Apology:
"Socrates (469-399), despite his foundational place in the history of
ideas, actually wrote nothing. Most of our knowledge of him comes from
the works of Plato (427-347), and since Plato had other concerns in
mind than simple historical accuracy it is usually impossible to
determine how much of his thinking actually derives from Socrates.
The most accurate of Plato's writings on Socrates is probably The
Apology. It is Plato's account of Socratesı defense at his trial in
399 BC (the word 'apology' comes from the Greek word for
'defense-speech' and does not mean what we would think of as an
apology)...
Socrates' method of philosophical inquiry consisted in questioning
people on the positions they asserted and working them through
questions into a contradiction, thus proving to them that their
original assertion was wrong. Socrates himself never takes a position;
in The Apology he radically and skeptically claims to know nothing at
all except that he knows nothing."
Crystalinks: Socrates
http://www.crystalinks.com/socrates.html
In a variation of Socrates' thoughts on wisdom and knowledge, the
philosopher Arcesilaus took things a step farther: we know nothing,
not even the fact that we don't know.
"In the Apology Socrates claims that he has no knowledge of his own,
but that he is wiser than other people only insofar as he knows that
he does not know, whereas others are ignorant even of their own
ignorance. Arcesilaus goes beyond this, saying that he knows nothing,
not even that that he knows nothing."
Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy: Arcesilaus (c. 315-240 BCE)
http://www.iep.utm.edu/a/arcesil.htm
"Arcesilaus (316-241 BC) was a Greek philosopher and founder of the
New, or Middle, Academy... He held that strength of intellectual
conviction cannot be regarded as valid, as much as it is
characteristic equally of contradictory conctions. The uncertainty of
sensible data applies equally to the conclusions of reason, and
therefore man must be content with probability which is sufficient as
a practical guide. 'We know nothing, not even our ignorance';
therefore the wise man will have to be content with an agnostic
attitude. He made use of the socratic method of instruction and left
no writings."
Encyclopedia/The Free Dictionary: Arcesilaus
http://encyclopedia.thefreedictionary.com/Arcesilaus
Other ancient expressions of similar concepts:
We know nothing in reality; for truth lies in an abyss.
Democritus, (c. 420 BCE) Greek philosopher.
None of us knows anything, not even whether we know or do not know,
nor do we know whether not knowing and knowing exist, nor in general
whether there is anything or not.
Metrodorus of Chios (c. 4th century BCE) Greek philosopher
This only is certain, that there is nothing certain; and nothing more
miserable and yet more arrogant than man.
Pliny ("The Elder") (23-79) Roman naturalist. (Gaius Plinius Secundus).
All we know of the truth is that the absolute truth, such as it is, is
beyond our reach.
Nicholas of Cusa (1401-64) German cardinal, mathematician,
philosopher. De Docta Ignorantia (Learned Ignorance)
Donald Simanek's Pages: The Fundamentalist Mindset
http://www.lhup.edu/~dsimanek/scraps/scraps02.htm
Google search strategy:
Google Web Search: "plato" + "socrates" + "apology" + "wisdom" + "nothing"
://www.google.com/search?hl=en&ie=UTF-8&q=plato+socrates+apology+wisdom+nothing
I hope this helps. If anything is unclear, or if a link does not
function, please request clarification; I'll gladly offer further
assistance before you rate my answer.
Best regards,
pinkfreud |
