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Essay / Socrates' Views on Human Wisdom
Socrates has many interesting views on various concepts and ideas. It explains in depth how these concepts and ideas can be detrimental or beneficial to human existence. Socrates is well known for being one of the greatest philosophers in history. He is recognized for his great mastery of philosophy and the in-depth knowledge he possesses. However, the information we know about Socrates was not documented by Socrates. Our information about Socrates was documented by his mentee, Plato. One of Socrates' most interesting perspectives concerns his view of human wisdom. From some angles, Socrates' theory of human wisdom can be said to be contradictory. Giving what we know, or what we think we know, about wisdom today does not quite fit Socrates' view of wisdom. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”? Get an original essay The current definition of wisdom can be defined as “the quality of having experience, knowledge, and good judgment...the ability to make rational decisions.” based on the knowledge you have or obtain. But Socrates has a different way of looking at wisdom. Socrates believes that wisdom is the ability to understand that we do not know everything and that it is foolish to think otherwise. A famous quote from Socrates about wisdom is: “I do not think I know what I do not know.” What Socrates is saying here is that if you don't have knowledge of a certain topic, idea, or concept, don't talk about it as if you do. If you don't know or understand the topic, it's best not to share your views on it and fool yourself into believing what you're talking about. Socrates stood his ground by recognizing his own ignorance and accepting it. In fact, Socrates presents this idea in a very modest way. One of Socrates' friends, Chaerephon, asked the oracles if there was anyone as wise as Socrates? The oracle answered and said no to Chaerephon. When Socrates learned of this, he was confused. Because of the way Socrates sees himself in the light of wisdom, he could not believe that no one was as wise or obtained more wisdom than him. So he took it upon himself to defy the oracles and go find someone wiser than himself. What Socrates discovered during this investigation was that there were people who were very wise in what they were competent to do, but these same wise people were very ignorant in other aspects, but they claimed they were wise in matters that revealed their true ignorance. .Keep in mind: This is just a sample.Get a custom paper now from our expert writers.Get a Custom EssaySocrates says: “I am wiser than this man, for none of us seems to know something great and good; but he thinks he knows something, when he knows nothing; whereas I, as I don't know anything, don't feel like I know it. Socrates relates how he and the man he was speaking to were ignorant of a subject, but unlike the man, Socrates did not pretend to know anything about the subject, he accepted that he was ignorant about the subject and did not speak about it. And it was at this moment that Socrates realized that he was wisest in recognizing his own ignorance. This led to the Socratic method. Socrates' views and the Socratic method can be used to explain Oedipus' tragic flaw, which ultimately led to his downfall..