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

Plato Plato ( ; grc-gre, Πλάτων ; 428/427 or 424/423 – 348/347 BC) was a Greek philosopher born in Athens during the Classical period in Ancient Greece. He founded the Platonist school of thought and the Academy, the first institution ...

's account of the

Greek Greek may refer to: Greece Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group. *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family. **Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor ...

philosopher A philosopher is a person who practices or investigates philosophy. The term ''philosopher'' comes from the grc, φιλόσοφος, , translit=philosophos, meaning 'lover of wisdom'. The coining of the term has been attributed to the Greek th ...

Socrates Socrates (; ; –399 BC) was a Greek philosopher from Athens who is credited as the founder of Western philosophy and among the first moral philosophers of the ethical tradition of thought. An enigmatic figure, Socrates authored no te ...

: ''"For I was conscious that I knew practically nothing..."'' (Plato, Apology 22d, translated by Harold North Fowler, 1966). Socrates himself was never recorded as having said this phrase, and scholars generally agree that Socrates only ever asserted that he ''believed that he knew nothing'', having never claimed that he ''knew that he knew nothing''. It is also sometimes called the

Socratic paradox The term Socratic paradox may be used to refer to several seemingly paradoxical claims made by the philosopher Socrates: *I know that I know nothing "I know that I know nothing" is a saying derived from Plato's account of the Greek philosopher ...

, 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 Answer commonly refers to response to a question. Answer may also refer to: * Answer (law), any reply to a question, counter-statement or defense in a legal procedure Music * Answer, an element of a fugue Albums * ''Answer'' (Angela Aki alb ...

to a question Socrates (according to

Xenophon Xenophon of Athens (; grc, wikt:Ξενοφῶν, Ξενοφῶν ; – probably 355 or 354 BC) was a Greek military leader, philosopher, and historian, born in Athens. At the age of 30, Xenophon was elected commander of one of the biggest Anci ...

) or

Chaerephon Chaerephon (; grc-gre, Χαιρεφῶν, ''Chairephōn''; c. 470/460 – 403/399 BCE), of the Athenian deme Sphettus, was an ancient Greek best remembered as a loyal friend and follower of Socrates. He is known only through brief descriptions ...

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

Pythia Pythia (; grc, Πυθία ) was the name 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 i ...

, the

Oracle of Delphi Pythia (; grc, Πυθία ) was the name of the high priestess of the 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 the Pythoness ...

, in which the oracle stated something to the effect of "Socrates is the wisest person in Athens." 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 branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power of the ...

("'"), is a possible paraphrase from a

text (see below). It is also quoted as "'" or "'". It was later back-translated to

Katharevousa Greek Katharevousa ( el, Καθαρεύουσα, , literally "purifying anguage) is a conservative form of the Modern Greek language conceived in the late 18th century as both a literary language and a compromise between Ancient Greek and the contempor ...

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'', 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. rom the Henry 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" rom_the_Benjamin_Jowett_translation.html" ;"title="Benjamin_Jowett.html" ;"title="rom the Benjamin Jowett">rom the Benjamin Jowett translation">Benjamin_Jowett.html" ;"title="rom the Benjamin Jowett">rom the 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.] (trans. George Grube, G. M. A. Grube)

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 " Pre-Socratic, 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 ( ; grc-gre, Διογένης Λαέρτιος, ; ) was a biographer of the Ancient Greece, Greek philosophers. Nothing is definitively known about his life, but his surviving ''Lives and Opinions of Eminent Philosophers'' is a ...

in his work ''

Lives and Opinions of Eminent Philosophers Diogenes Laërtius ( ; grc-gre, Διογένης Λαέρτιος, ; ) was a biographer of the Greek philosophers. Nothing is definitively known about his life, but his surviving ''Lives and Opinions of Eminent Philosophers'' is a principal sourc ...

'' 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".

Terence Irwin Terence Henry Irwin FBA (; born 21 April 1947), usually cited as T. H. Irwin, is a scholar and philosopher specializing in ancient Greek philosophy and the history of ethics (i.e., the history of Western moral philosophy in ancient, medieval, and ...

, ''The Development of Ethics'', vol. 1, Oxford University Press 2007, p. 14; Gerasimos Santas, "The Socratic Paradoxes", ''Philosophical Review'' 73 (1964), pp. 147–64.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:I Know That I Know Nothing Theories in ancient Greek philosophy Quotations from philosophy Greek words and phrases Socrates Concepts in epistemology Self-referential paradoxes Ignorance Academic skepticism