SOCRATES’ UNWISDOM
Since our student movement led by post-pubescent lads and lassies, confident they know statecraft and everything else that I couldn’t even imagine at that age, I asked about Socrates:
“According to the account in Plato’s Apology, the Oracle at Delphi proclaimed that no one was wiser than Socrates. This puzzled Socrates, as he believed he possessed no special wisdom. Seeking to understand the oracle’s statement, he embarked on a quest to question those reputed to be wise—politicians, poets, and craftsmen.
Through this process, Socrates discovered that many who claimed to be wise were not; they thought they knew things they did not. In contrast, Socrates recognized the limits of his own knowledge. He concluded that his wisdom lay in this self-awareness: he knew that he did not know.
Thus, the god’s statement could be understood as highlighting the paradoxical wisdom of humility and intellectual honesty, which Socrates exemplified. By acknowledging his ignorance, Socrates was wiser than those who falsely believed themselves knowledgeable.”


















