Quotation
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“I am wiser than this man; it is likely that neither of us knows anything worthwhile, but he thinks he knows something when he does not, whereas when I do not know, neither do I think I know.”
Socrates · Socratic · Ancient · c. 399 BCE, as written by Plato
Part of:Ancient questions, modern life →
What does it mean?
The mainstream reading is that Socrates's advantage is negative: he is less deceived about how much he knows, and that is what the oracle was pointing at. A competing reading treats the modesty as irony, a tactic for trapping self-styled experts rather than a real account of his ignorance. The speech sits in the Apology just after Chaerephon's visit to Delphi, and it launches the cross-examinations that made him enemies. The proverb 'I know that I know nothing' is a later summary, not this sentence.
Did Socrates really say this?
The library’s label is Paraphrase or translation. Again Plato's dialogue, a standard close translation. The proverb 'I know that I know nothing' is a later summary of this passage, not a sentence on the page.
Where it comes from
Plato, Apology 21d
Approximate date: c. 399 BCE, as written by Plato.
How to use it
Before you correct a colleague in a Monday meeting, mark the claim you have checked and the claim you only feel sure of. The second is where you stand in the place of the man Socrates describes. A strong tone in a Teams chat is not the same as a tested point.
A mindset reading
Confidence is not knowledge. The useful habit is to sort certainties into those you have tried to refute and those you have only rehearsed. Feeling ready to speak is not one of the tests, and a firm tone does not add a test.
Understand the philosophy
Socrates is answering the god's riddle: no one is wiser than he is, though he knows he is not wise. Wisdom here means a grasp of what is worthwhile, the sort poets and politicians claimed. His method is elenchus, a cross-examination that shows a person cannot explain their own claim. The discovery becomes the mission.
- knowledge
- self
FAQ
What does it mean?
The mainstream reading is that Socrates's advantage is negative: he is less deceived about how much he knows, and that is what the oracle was pointing at. A competing reading treats the modesty as irony, a tactic for trapping self-styled experts rather than a real account of his ignorance. The speech sits in the Apology just after Chaerephon's visit to Delphi, and it launches the cross-examinations that made him enemies. The proverb 'I know that I know nothing' is a later summary, not this sentence.
Did Socrates really say this?
Paraphrase or translation. Again Plato's dialogue, a standard close translation. The proverb 'I know that I know nothing' is a later summary of this passage, not a sentence on the page.
Which work is it in?
Plato, Apology 21d Approximate date: c. 399 BCE, as written by Plato.