"The only true wisdom is in knowing you know nothing."

[ThatDude30]

What does this quote from Socrates mean to you?
"The only true wisdom is in knowing you know nothing."

 

[Marion Morrison]

That truly wise men aren't smug in their knowledge, and realize how little they know in comparison to what there is to be known.

 

[emilynghiem]

When you know your perception is faith based and relative,
you know it can be biased and change depending on circumstances.

However, as Tim Minchin quipped in his poetic discourse,
if none of us know anything for sure, then how would we know to
exit an apt through the door instead of the window on the top floor?



P.S. another memorable quotation I cite more often:
Better Socrates dissatisfied than a pig satisfied.
Better to have awareness although disturbing
than to be content wallowing in ignorance like a pig in mud!

 

[BULLDOG]

Socrates made a very profound sounding statement, but he was engaging in false modesty. Obviously he knew a lot as evidenced by the great thinkers who came to study under him. He would have been more accurate to say he knew nothing compared to how much there is to know, or how much he hoped to eventually know, but "I know nothing" was just an exaggeration to make a point. Much of what he said was more to make a point rather than to be accurate. On here, he might have been called a troll.

 

[Penelope]

The more you know, the more you realize what you don't know.

 

[Penelope]

Way too funny. Mr know it all, with the best memory, highest IQ, and best mind , admits he doesn't know it all.

 

[Unkotare]

Socrates made a very profound sounding statement, but he was engaging in false modesty. Obviously he knew a lot as evidenced by the great thinkers who came to study under him. He would have been more accurate to say he knew nothing compared to how much there is to know, or how much he hoped to eventually know, but "I know nothing" was just an exaggeration to make a point. Much of what he said was more to make a point rather than to be accurate. On here, he might have been called a troll.

Why do you think he got a hemlock milkshake?

 

[OldLady]

Socrates made a very profound sounding statement, but he was engaging in false modesty. Obviously he knew a lot as evidenced by the great thinkers who came to study under him. He would have been more accurate to say he knew nothing compared to how much there is to know, or how much he hoped to eventually know, but "I know nothing" was just an exaggeration to make a point. Much of what he said was more to make a point rather than to be accurate. On here, he might have been called a troll.

I think he'd probably just had a hard day with sophomoric know it all's. Of course he was just making a point, but I don't think he was "engaging in false modesty." Of all the deep, unanswerable questions he pondered, anyone with a brain would realize that in the end we don't know.

 

[Unkotare]

There is a lot more to it than anything that has been posted thus far.

 

[Moonglow]

What does this quote from Socrates mean to you?
"The only true wisdom is in knowing you know nothing."

Your quote is wrong...

 

[BULLDOG]

Socrates made a very profound sounding statement, but he was engaging in false modesty. Obviously he knew a lot as evidenced by the great thinkers who came to study under him. He would have been more accurate to say he knew nothing compared to how much there is to know, or how much he hoped to eventually know, but "I know nothing" was just an exaggeration to make a point. Much of what he said was more to make a point rather than to be accurate. On here, he might have been called a troll.

I think he'd probably just had a hard day with sophomoric know it all's. Of course he was just making a point, but I don't think he was "engaging in false modesty." Of all the deep, unanswerable questions he pondered, anyone with a brain would realize that in the end we don't know.

I don't know everything and I don't know anything are not the same thing.

 

[Moonglow]

I am the wisest man alive, for I know one thing, and that is that I know nothing.
Read more at: Socrates Quotes

 

[PK1]

What does this quote from Socrates mean to you?
"The only true wisdom is in knowing you know nothing."

You ASSume a guy called “Socrates” made that quote, but you don’t know what transpired thousands (?) of years ago!

Regardless of that quote’s attribution, the quote itself makes little common sense.
We all know a lot, e.g, we know what gives us basic pleasure experiences, and we know about pain, when we experience it.

Bottom line is we learn from our experiences (much of the time), and THAT is knowledge ... from an individual's perspective.
And then there are different kinds of “knowledge” ...

 

[jwoodie]

Knowing nothing is the proper way to start an investigation. "Facts" are a theoretical concept upon which logical deductions can be made, but they rarely represent metaphysical certainty.

 

[BULLDOG]

Knowing nothing is the proper way to start an investigation. "Facts" are a theoretical concept upon which logical deductions can be made, but they rarely represent metaphysical certainty.

Are you serious? Facts aren't theoretical.

 

[Unkotare]

Knowing nothing is the proper way to start an investigation. "Facts" are a theoretical concept upon which logical deductions can be made, but they rarely represent metaphysical certainty.

You’re trying too hard.

 

[Jonathan McCreevey]

Knowing nothing is the proper way to start an investigation. "Facts" are a theoretical concept upon which logical deductions can be made, but they rarely represent metaphysical certainty.

Is metaphysical certainty a fact in your opinion?

 

[Jonathan McCreevey]

Maybe some people wouldnt know the truth if they saw him/her/it. Can you face that truth?

 

[jwoodie]

Is metaphysical certainty a fact in your opinion?

1+1=2 is a metaphysical certainty, but whether 1=1 is a factual question.

 

[Unkotare]

Is metaphysical certainty a fact in your opinion?

1+1=2 is a metaphysical certainty, but whether 1=1 is a factual question.

There is no 2.