The phrase "I know that I know nothing" or "I know one thing: that I know nothing", sometimes
called the Socratic paradox, is a well-known saying that is derived from Plato's account
of the Greek philosopher Socrates.
This saying is also connected and/or conflated with the answer Socrates is said to have received
from Pythia, the oracle of Delphi, in answer to the question "who is the wisest man in
Greece?".
In Plato The saying, though widely attributed to Plato's
Socrates in both ancient and modern times, actually occurs nowhere in Plato's works in
this form.
Two prominent Plato scholars have recently argued that the claim should not be attributed
to Plato's Socrates.
However, in Apology, Plato relates that:
[…] οὗτος μὲν οἴεταί τι εἰδέναι οὐκ εἰδώς, ἐγὼ
δέ, ὥσπερ οὖν οὐκ οἶδα, οὐδὲ οἴομαι
[This man, on one hand, believes that he knows something, while not knowing.
On the other hand, I — equally ignorant — do not believe.]
The impreciseness of the paraphrase of this as I know that I know nothing stems from the
fact that the author is not saying that he does not know anything but means instead that
one cannot know anything with absolute certainty but can feel confident about certain things.
Chaerephon, a friend of Socrates asked Pythia, the oracle of Delphi: "Is anyone wiser than
Socrates?".
The answer was: "No human is wiser".
Socrates, since he denied any knowledge, 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's awareness of his own ignorance.
Socrates also deals with this phrase in Plato's dialogue Meno when he says:
καὶ νῦν περὶ ἀρετῆς ὃ ἔστιν ἐγὼ μὲν οὐκ οἶδα,
σὺ μέντοι ἴσως πρότερον μὲν ᾔδησθα πρὶν ἐμοῦ
ἅψασθαι, νῦν μέντοι ὅμοιος εἶ οὐκ εἰδότι.
[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.]
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 Laertius in his work Lives and Opinions of Eminent
Philosophers where he lists, among the things that Socrates used
to say: "εἰδέναι μὲν μηδὲν πλὴν αὐτὸ τοῦτο εἰδέναι",
or "that he knew nothing except that he knew that very fact."
Again, closer to the quote, there's a passage in Plato's Apology, where Socrates says that
after discussing with someone he started thinking that
τούτου μὲν τοῦ ἀνθρώπου ἐγὼ σοφώτερός εἰμι·
κινδυνεύει μὲν γὰρ ἡμῶν οὐδέτερος οὐδὲν καλὸν
κἀγαθὸν εἰδέναι, ἀλλ᾽ οὗτος μὲν οἴεταί τι εἰδέναι
οὐκ εἰδώς, ἐγὼ δέ, ὥσπερ οὖν οὐκ οἶδα, οὐδὲ οἴομαι·
ἔοικα γοῦν τούτου γε σμικρῷ τινι αὐτῷ τούτῳ σοφώτερος
εἶναι, ὅτι ἃ μὴ οἶδα οὐδὲ οἴομαι εἰδέναι.
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, so I
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.
Alternative usage "Socratic paradox" may also refer to statements
of Socrates that seem contrary to common sense, such as that "no one desires evil".
See also References
External links Quotations related to Socrates at Wikiquote