Socrates on Wisdom

Socrates was by far one of the most important philosophers. However, he wrote no works of his own; therefore we come to know about Socrates’ life and teachings through his student and friend Plato (427 BCE — 347 BCE).

In Plato’s Apology, Socrates repeatedly refers to a single God, and he refused to honour the Greek gods. He was defending himself and his conception of philosophy, however, Socrates was found guilty and he was sentenced to death.

“Sometimes ignorance is better than knowledge; he argues that the only truly valuable knowledge is the knowledge of the good, an authoritative knowledge that will correctly advise us when to use other goods and skills in our possession.”

Wisdom is a sort of recognition of your own ignorance, thus Socrates knows that he is not wise; therefore he has a type of wisdom.

For Socrates, knowledge is the most valuable thing in life, however, he believed that it is better to seek knowledge and be conscious of your own ignorance than to claim knowledge that you really do not have.