Socrates_the_Wise

Michael Cross V00700775 Essay Topic #1 Argued one of the wisest men of all time, Socrates once proclaimed that “_I__ am not wise in anything, great or small_” (Apology_ pg. 427 cited in CP 53.) _Although highly misleading and contradictory to favoured belief, this statement depicts ignorance. In present society, one frowns upon ignorance, believing that those who are ignorant are weak and naive. This same mentality was portrayed in the likes of the Athenians during the Golden age of Greece (650BCE-322BCE). As their empire was gradually increasing, it seemed only right for one to believe that he is part of something large, wise and powerful. However, according to Socrates, these men who believed they knew vast amounts of knowledge actually knew meek mundane information yet were unable to accept what they did not know. This in itself is ignorance, pure and immeasurable. So, why is Socrates considered the wisest of all time when he admits to being the average ignorant individual' It’s simple, it’s because he admits himself to be naive. Just as the slave in Plato’s Meno eventually admits his ignorance, so does Socrates, which is what makes him truly wise. For Socrates thought that his wisdom in knowing was that he did not know, in other words, his wisdom is in his conscious ignorance. However, when comparing both the Meno and the Apology, one finds contradiction within Socrates beliefs, ones which may eradicate the meaning of wisdom altogether. While pleading for his life in the Apology Socrates explains why he questioned the knowledge of the citizens of Athens. He was searching for one who was wiser than he, subsequently this led him to ask those who were believed to be “masters” at one thing. What he found was astonishing, those who were trained in one area believed that they knew bountiful amounts of information in others; and when proved wrong, they turned the other cheek and refused to accept it. When conversing with a statesman, Socrates concluded that “_the fact is that neither of us knows anything beautiful and good, but he thinks he does when he doesn’t, and I don’t know and don’t think I do_”(_Apology pg. 427__ CP 53). _This was the one trifle that separated Socrates from the rest of the Athenians. Their inability to accept their ignorance proved them to be naive and most importantly (in Socrates point of view) incapable of being the “wisest”. An example of accepting ones ignorance is shown in the Meno, where Socrates is trying to define virtue. He tells Meno that all knowledge is simply recollection, whereupon it must be provoked. He provides an example with a slave boy, where he asks him a geometrical question, and forces him (via questioning) to admit his own ignorance. Then Socrates shows him the answer, and without being able to describe what he was shown, the slave knows that it is the right answer. Thus, admitting that one does not know, entitles you to gain knowledge. In his search for the wisest being, however, Socrates comes across an unseen contradiction. Between the Meno and the Apology, he unmistakably develops a rip in his logic. In the Apology, Socrates claims that wisdom consists in knowing that he does not know, whereas in the Meno he mentions that one already knows all knowledge and it’s just a matter of recollection for one to retrieve it. This begs the question, by already knowing all knowledge is it then impossible to be wise' Furthermore, does this logic then nullify the existence (according the Socrates in the Meno) of the term and meaning of wisdom' One can only imagine the magnitude this may have had on society then and perhaps society now. This contradiction of beliefs and teachings poses a threat to all those who believe in Socratic wisdom. One may decipher that due to having his life on the line; Socrates spoke his true beliefs at the trial, therefore abolishing his previous teachings with the slave. Nevertheless, one may also argue that his teachings with the slave were what he thought and had preached for years; it was what encouraged Plato to develop the idea of the perfect ideal world, where one already knows exactly what everything is in its perfect form. In the Apology, Socrates himself questions the existence of wisdom by saying “_I will call the god in Delphi as witness of my wisdom, whether indeed it is wisdom at all”_. Conclusively, it seems possible that Socrates could find no one wiser than he, because he had already ruled out the existence of wisdom itself. He believed that one already knows everything, it’s just matter of recollection; however he also believed that one must accept their ignorance in not knowing to be truly wise. In the case of the latter, Socrates proves all Athenians wrong when he questions their knowledge, and proves their naivety. This causes him to think he is the wisest, which unfortunately contradicts his previous belief in the Meno. Although he was able to prove himself wiser than his questioned Athenians, and teach the slave, Socrates’ beliefs will forever remain contradictory, and therefore never fully believable.