Meaning of I only know that I know nothing

"I only know that I know nothing" or "I only know that I know nothing" is a famous phrase attributed to the Greek philosopher Socrates (470-399 BC. de C.), in which he expresses that he is aware of his own ignorance.

The phrase is assigned to Socrates but is not found literally written in any text. In the work Socrates' ApologyPlato exposes a version of the speech delivered by Socrates during the trial before his death: “This man, on the one hand, believes that he knows something, while he does not know. On the other hand, I, who also don't know either, I think ”.

From this the phrase "I only know that I know nothing" is deduced, in which it is reflected that, for Socrates, wisdom comes precisely from the recognition of ignorance.

Although there is no evidence that Socrates pronounced these words, the reality is that it is very much in line with his way of doing philosophy. But how can we interpret its meaning? What is the origin of the phrase?

Analysis of the phrase "I just know that I don't know anything"

The phrase "I just know that I don't know anything" has been subject to different meanings. Among them, we can highlight the suggestion that there is no absolute truth, the verification of the limits of the knowledge that we can have about things, or the division that exists between the wise and the ignorant.

Willingness to learn

Socrates was accused of corrupting the youth with his way of teaching and also of dishonoring the Gods.

Maybe Socrates tried to express that his wisdom was not based on making knowledge about something, but declared his ignorance about different knowledge. Thus, Socrates did not consider himself as a bearer of knowledge, but as someone with the will to learn more every day.

Given this, we could interpret that with this statement Socrates may, in reality, by sentencing that he "knows nothing" was stating that he also has nothing to teach, but to learn.

Attending to this interpretation we can conclude some ideas that are hidden behind this statement:

There is no absolute truth

This phrase proposes the idea that the individual does not have the absolute truth, and that it is important that they have the availability and willingness to learn, as well as to acquire new knowledge.

Alluding to the origin of the phrase, and taking into account what is referred to in Socrates' ApologyWhen Socrates tried to find out if the Oracle was right or wrong with his words, he questioned those who "passed for being the wisest."

In this "game" of questions and answers, called Socratic dialogue, he was able to verify that those who, socially, called themselves experts, were not actually so wise. For they constantly fell into contradiction.

In a way, for Socrates there is no absolute truth. His philosophy is to question everything and he shows that, although these experts dominated many technicalities within their field of knowledge, in reality, they did not know, for example, how to live in society.

So what did Socrates want to achieve with it? Apart from discovering the certainty of the Oracle's words, the philosopher wanted his interlocutors to doubt their knowledge and even of themselves, so that they would come to understand that nobody has the absolute truth about nothing.

The limits of knowledge as the basis of wisdom

This phrase may be affirming that true wisdom consists in recognizing the limits of knowledge about some certain topic, be willing to constantly learn, avoiding talking as if you know everything, when you really he ignores.

Socrates, in his interpretation of the Oracle, found that, unlike the others, he recognizes that he is not an expert, he admits that there are limits to everything that can really be known. While others believed they knew something, he neither knew nor believed he knew.

So, we can interpret that Socrates' wisdom lies in understanding that he is not a sage or an expert in anything.

The dividing line between wisdom and ignorance

It is clear that, in a way, Socrates exposes those who believed they were right. In this sense, with this sentence, a dividing line could be established between wise and ignorant.

The ignorant man thinks he knows everything, he thinks he is right, and he is even unaware of his own ignorance. The wise man recognizes that there is still much to learn from others and from the environment, if he wishes to expand his knowledge and gain new perspectives on a subject.

The fact of recognizing that knowledge has no limits, that not everything is expressed or said, is what separates the wise from the truly ignorant.

Origin and context of the sentence

The origin of the phrase can be extracted from the work Socrates' Apology of Plato. There it is related that Cherephon, friend of Socrates, went to the Oracle of Delphi to find out who was the wisest man. So, the Oracle declared that Socrates was the most intelligent man in Greece.

Upon learning this, Socrates tried to find out the truth of this statement. To do this, he asked all those who were recognized as the wisest and found that they were not as intelligent as they preached.

It may interest you: All about Plato: biography, contributions and works of the Greek philosopher.

Socratic method

This phrase is still an attribution to Socrates, however it is closely related to Socratic philosophy. After all, these words condense relevant aspects of the Socratic method and it is also the objective that he wanted to achieve with himself: to recognize ignorance in order, later, to be able to achieve knowledge. But what is his method?

In the first place, Socrates used dialogue as a method to arrive at the truth, asking questions of the interlocutors until they themselves reached a valid conclusion. Generally, the conclusion was that they knew nothing or very little.

Some philosophers claimed that the Socratic method consisted of two phases: irony and maieutics. Coupled with inductive reasoning that would help achieve the universal definition of the term, object of investigation.

In relation to irony, Socrates had the objective of making his interlocutor believe that he was ignorant about a subject in order to obtain part of this knowledge about something.

As for the method of mayeutics, it comes from the Greek maieutiké (or the 'art of assisting in childbirth') and it is about helping the disciple to find in himself the way to achieve knowledge, through dialogue. This method involves questioning what you think you know in advance and acknowledging that fact.

Who was Socrates?

Socrates was a philosopher born in Athens around 470 BC. C. considered one of the greatest thinkers of antiquity and father of Western philosophy.

Nothing is known about Socrates' work because he wrote nothing, everything that has transcended from him is thanks to his disciples, among whom was Plato.

Unlike his contemporaries, the Sophists, Socrates did not charge for his speeches, which he preached on the street as he wandered. His philosophy consisted of dialogue (Socratic method) with which, thanks to asking the interlocutor some questions, he made him question everything that he believed he knew with certainty.

His way of doing philosophy, unusual for the time, led him to be accused of corrupting the youth and doubting the existence of the Athenian Gods. Socrates dies in 399 BC. C. at the age of 70, when the court forced him to drink hemlock.

If you liked this article, you may also be interested in: Socrates' Apology