Socratic ignorance refers to a person's acknowledgment of their ignorance: "I know only one thing – that I know nothing."
It is also referred to as "Socratic wisdom."

Socratic ignorance

Greek philosopher Socrates (469-399 BCE) is associated with humility regarding what one knows. In Plato's dialogues, Socrates is shown to challenge someone who thinks they know something, but when questioned thoroughly about it, turns out not to understand at all. By contrast, Socrates admits from the start that he does not know the answer.
In the Meno (a Socratic dialogue by Plato), Socrates is asked by Meno if virtue can be taught. Socrates responds that he doesn't know what virtue is. In a later part of the dialogue, Socrates shows that an essential step to learning anything is to clear one's mind of false ideas, even if you seem ignorant.

Socratic ignorance in Plato's Dialogues

The best way to change dogmatically held beliefs is to start with a skeptical attitude and ask questions, assuming you know nothing.
However, it is questionable how feasible it is to keep an attitude of Socratic ignorance on all matters. Even Socrates says, for instance, that he is sure that no real harm can befall a good man. He is equally confident that "the unexamined life is not worth living."

The Importance of Socratic Ignorance

<figure><img src="https://www.thoughtco.com/thmb/rGibm6fmjCwm1-fKsl_kmhwMXnw=/768x0/filters:no_upscale():max_bytes(150000):strip_icc():format(webp)/socrates--greece--athens-546975617-591767a93df78c7a8c7e5322.jpg" srcset="https://www.thoughtco.com/thmb/t-pMh_7LqH1DeqXyITQNH_FKl7A=/300x0/filters:no_upscale():max_bytes(150000):strip_icc():format(webp)/socrates--greece--athens-546975617-591767a93df78c7a8c7e5322.jpg 300w, https://www.thoughtco.com/thmb/IRPj8kqJJkUXsrElZEOwtYEXmBc=/417x0/filters:no_upscale():max_bytes(150000):strip_icc():format(webp)/socrates--greece--athens-546975617-591767a93df78c7a8c7e5322.jpg 417w, https://www.thoughtco.com/thmb/fPtqSJyvTbUhH5O4FMp9sWNF73w=/534x0/filters:no_upscale():max_bytes(150000):strip_icc():format(webp)/socrates--greece--athens-546975617-591767a93df78c7a8c7e5322.jpg 534w, https://www.thoughtco.com/thmb/rGibm6fmjCwm1-fKsl_kmhwMXnw=/768x0/filters:no_upscale():max_bytes(150000):strip_icc():format(webp)/socrates--greece--athens-546975617-591767a93df78c7a8c7e5322.jpg 768w" width="721" height="481"><figcaption dir="auto"> Statue of Socrates -- Athens, Greece. Hiroshi Higuchi / Getty Images</figcaption></figure><div>
Updated February 07, 2019
</div>Socratic ignorance refers, paradoxically, to a kind of knowledge–a person’s frank acknowledgment of what they don’t know.&nbsp;It is captured by the well-known statement: “I know only one thing–that I know nothing.”&nbsp;Paradoxically, Socratic ignorance is also referred to as "Socratic wisdom."<h2 dir="ltr"> Socratic Ignorance in Plato's Dialogues </h2>This sort of humility regarding what one knows is associated with the Greek philosopher <a href="https://www.thoughtco.com/profile-of-socrates-121053" data-component="link" data-source="inlineLink" data-type="internalLink" data-ordinal="1" dir="ltr">Socrates</a> (469-399 BCE) because he is portrayed displaying it in several of Plato’s dialogs.&nbsp;The clearest statement of it is in the <a href="https://www.thoughtco.com/platos-apology-2670338" data-component="link" data-source="inlineLink" data-type="internalLink" data-ordinal="2" dir="ltr">Apology</a>, the speech Socrates gave in his defense when he was prosecuted for corrupting the youth and impiety.&nbsp;Socrates recounts how his friend Chaerephon was told by the Delphic oracle that no human was wiser than Socrates.&nbsp;Socrates was incredulous since he didn’t consider himself wise.&nbsp;So he set about trying to find someone wiser than himself.&nbsp;He found plenty of people who were knowledgeable about specific matters such as how to make shoes, or how to pilot a ship.&nbsp;But he noticed that these people also thought that they were similarly expert about other matters too when they clearly were not.&nbsp;He eventually drew the conclusion that in one sense, at least, he was wiser than others in that he did not think he knew what he did not in fact know.&nbsp;In short, he was aware of his own ignorance.In several other of Plato’s dialogs, Socrates is shown confronting someone who thinks they understand something but who, when questioned rigorously about it, turns out not to understand it at all.&nbsp;Socrates, by contrast, admits from the outset that he does not know the answer to whatever question is being posed.&nbsp;In the <a href="https://www.thoughtco.com/platos-euthyphro-2670341" data-component="link" data-source="inlineLink" data-type="internalLink" data-ordinal="1" dir="ltr">Euthyphro</a>, for instance, Euthyphro is asked to define piety.&nbsp;He makes five attempts, but Socrates shoots each one down.&nbsp;Euthyphro, however, does not admit that he is as ignorant as Socrates; he simply rushes off at the end of the dialog like the white rabbit in Alice in Wonderland, leaving Socrates still unable to define piety (even though he is about to be tried for impiety).In the <a href="https://www.thoughtco.com/platos-meno-2670343" data-component="link" data-source="inlineLink" data-type="internalLink" data-ordinal="1" dir="ltr">Meno</a>, Socrates is asked by Meno if virtue can be taught and responds by saying that he doesn’t know because he doesn’t know what virtue is.&nbsp;Meno is astonished, but I turn out that he is unable to define the term satisfactorily. After three failed attempts, he complains that Socrates has benumbed his mind, rather as a stingray numbs its prey.&nbsp;He used to be able to speak eloquently about virtue, and now he can’t even say what it is.&nbsp;But in the next part of the dialog, Socrates shows how clearing one’s mind of false ideas, even if it leaves one in a state of self-confessed ignorance, is a valuable and even necessary step if one is to learn anything.&nbsp;He does this by showing how a slave boy can only solve a mathematical problem once he has recognized that the untested beliefs he already had were false.<h2 dir="ltr"> The Importance of Socratic Ignorance </h2>This episode in the Meno highlights the philosophical and historical importance of Socratic ignorance.&nbsp;Western philosophy and science only get going when people begin to question dogmatically help beliefs.&nbsp;The best way to do this is to start out with a skeptical attitude, assuming one is not certain about anything.&nbsp;This approach was most famously adopted by Descartes (1596-1651) in his Meditations.In actual fact, it is questionable how feasible it is to maintain an attitude of Socratic ignorance on all matters.&nbsp;Certainly, Socrates in the ​Apology doesn’t maintain this position consistently.&nbsp;He says, for instance, that he is perfectly certain that no real harm can befall a good man.&nbsp;And he is equally confident that “the unexamined life is not worth living.”

This sort of humility regarding what one knows is associated with Socrates because he is portrayed as displaying it in several of Plato’s dialogs.

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Socratic ignorance refers, paradoxically, to a kind of knowledge–a person’s frank acknowledgment of what they don’t know. It is captured by the well-known statement: “I know only one thing–that I know nothing.” Paradoxically, Socratic ignorance is also referred to as "Socratic wisdom."

This sort of humility regarding what one knows is associated with the Greek philosopher <a data-component="link" data-ordinal="1" data-source="inlineLink" data-type="internalLink" dir="ltr" href="https://www.thoughtco.com/profile-of-socrates-121053">Socrates </a>(469-399 BCE) because he is portrayed displaying it in several of Plato’s dialogs. The clearest statement of it is in the <a data-component="link" data-ordinal="2" data-source="inlineLink" data-type="internalLink" dir="ltr" href="https://www.thoughtco.com/platos-apology-2670338">Apology </a>, the speech Socrates gave in his defense when he was prosecuted for corrupting the youth and impiety. Socrates recounts how his friend Chaerephon was told by the Delphic oracle that no human was wiser than Socrates. Socrates was incredulous since he didn’t consider himself wise. So he set about trying to find someone wiser than himself. He found plenty of people who were knowledgeable about specific matters such as how to make shoes, or how to pilot a ship. But he noticed that these people also thought that they were similarly expert about other matters too when they clearly were not. He eventually drew the conclusion that in one sense, at least, he was wiser than others in that he did not think he knew what he did not in fact know. In short, he was aware of his own ignorance.

In several other of Plato’s dialogs, Socrates is shown confronting someone who thinks they understand something but who, when questioned rigorously about it, turns out not to understand it at all. Socrates, by contrast, admits from the outset that he does not know the answer to whatever question is being posed.

In the <a data-component="link" data-ordinal="1" data-source="inlineLink" data-type="internalLink" dir="ltr" href="https://www.thoughtco.com/platos-euthyphro-2670341">Euthyphro </a>, for instance, Euthyphro is asked to define piety. He makes five attempts, but Socrates shoots each one down. Euthyphro, however, does not admit that he is as ignorant as Socrates; he simply rushes off at the end of the dialog like the white rabbit in Alice in Wonderland, leaving Socrates still unable to define piety (even though he is about to be tried for impiety).

In the <a data-component="link" data-ordinal="1" data-source="inlineLink" data-type="internalLink" dir="ltr" href="https://www.thoughtco.com/platos-meno-2670343">Meno </a>, Socrates is asked by Meno if virtue can be taught and responds by saying that he doesn’t know because he doesn’t know what virtue is. Meno is astonished, but I turn out that he is unable to define the term satisfactorily. After three failed attempts, he complains that Socrates has benumbed his mind, rather as a stingray numbs its prey. He used to be able to speak eloquently about virtue, and now he can’t even say what it is. But in the next part of the dialog, Socrates shows how clearing one’s mind of false ideas, even if it leaves one in a state of self-confessed ignorance, is a valuable and even necessary step if one is to learn anything. He does this by showing how a slave boy can only solve a mathematical problem once he has recognized that the untested beliefs he already had were false.

This episode in the Meno highlights the philosophical and historical importance of Socratic ignorance. Western philosophy and science only get going when people begin to question dogmatically help beliefs. The best way to do this is to start out with a skeptical attitude, assuming one is not certain about anything. This approach was most famously adopted by Descartes (1596-1651) in his Meditations .

In actual fact, it is questionable how feasible it is to maintain an attitude of Socratic ignorance on all matters. Certainly, Socrates in the ​Apology doesn’t maintain this position consistently. He says, for instance, that he is perfectly certain that no real harm can befall a good man. And he is equally confident that “the unexamined life is not worth living.”

What Is Socratic Ignorance?

Socratic ignorance

Socratic ignorance in Plato's Dialogues

The Importance of Socratic Ignorance

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