Socratic Wisdom
Socratic Wisdom In the Apology, the oracle at Delphi stated that Socrates was the wisest man of his time (Plato 21a). Socrates, however, “[was] very conscious that [he was] not wise at all”, which would not make him the wisest man of his time (21b). Certainly, not both the oracle and Socrates could be simultaneously correct in their individual beliefs; thus, the oracle and Socrates must have had differing definitions of wisdom. What, then, is wisdom? Many people believe wisdom denotes having extensive knowledge about various things. A person often gains this knowledge through time and experience, hence why elderly people are viewed as wise. We shall refer to this form of wisdom as wisdom through knowledge alone. So too, many people believe wisdom is a lack of ignorance. Plato, in his work Apology, depicts this form of wisdom through Socrates’ encounters with the politicians, poets, and craftsmen. Paradoxically, Socrates found that he was wiser than each of these people because he at least recognized what he did not know, whereas the other groups of people believed to know more than what they actually knew (22). We shall refer to this form of wisdom as wisdom through self-knowledge. I contend that neither of these views of wisdom is, in fact, what Socrates viewed wisdom to be. Instead, I contend that Socrates viewed true wisdom as knowledge of what is important in life, why this is important, and how to achieve this through action. It is from this view of wisdom that both the oracle and Socrates could be correct in their beliefs stated earlier.
To defend this, however, we must evaluate the views of wisdom in regards to knowledge alone and self-knowledge. According to the view of wisdom through knowledge alone, a wise person has widespread knowledge about a multitude of topics, including literature, science, and mathematics. The principal rebuttal to this view argues that intelligence does not equate to wisdom. That is, comprehensive knowledge of
To defend this, however, we must evaluate the views of wisdom in regards to knowledge alone and self-knowledge. According to the view of wisdom through knowledge alone, a wise person has widespread knowledge about a multitude of topics, including literature, science, and mathematics. The principal rebuttal to this view argues that intelligence does not equate to wisdom. That is, comprehensive knowledge of
Cited: Descartes, R., Principles of Philosophy, in Philosophical Works. Trans. E. Haldane and G. Ross. London: Cambridge University Press, 1979. Print. Plato., Five Dialogues: Euthyphro, Apology, Crito, Meno, Phaedo. Trans. G. M. A Grube and John M. Cooper. Second ed. Indianapolis: Hackett, 2002. Print.