About

I Know Only Nothing

A friend of Socrates visited the Oracle at Delphi and asked if anyone was wiser than Socrates. The oracle answered that no one was wiser.

Socrates was confused because he did not believe himself wise at all. To test the oracle, he went around Athens questioning politicians, poets, craftsmen, and respected citizens.

What he discovered was that many of them thought they understood important things, but when questioned closely, their certainty fell apart. They possessed confidence without real understanding.

Socrates concluded that the oracle’s meaning was this:

He was “wiser” only because he recognized his own ignorance, while others falsely believed themselves knowledgeable.