In Plato’s Apology, the oracle of Delphi is said to state that the Socrates is the wisest of all men. Socrates himself does not initially understand why his God would make such a claim and sets out to discover his reasoning behind it. In doing so he, according to Socrates, he discovers that it is the fact that he himself does not believe to hold any knowledge or wisdom of great virtue which thus actually makes him the wisest of man.
Socrates comes to this discovery by exploring commendable professionals in Athens and comparing his own wisdom to their own. He attempted to find a man who held more wisdom then he and he would present him to his God to prove that he is not the wisest of man. He began by approaching a politician. The politician …show more content…
As Socrates put it “I do not suppose that either of us knows anything really beautiful of good. I am better off than he is – for he knows nothing and thinks that he know. I neither know nor think that I know.” (Jowett, 2007, p.2)
He then continues his search for an answer to the Oracle of Delphi`s credit to himself by further questioning other professionals and comes to the same conclusion. Upon approaching a poet and bringing “the most elaborate passages in their own writing” (Jowett. 2007 p.2) the poet, as Socrates explains, could not teach or explain his writing to Socrates, thus illustrating that his writings did not come from wisdom, but rather from intuition or vision. Exemplifying that Socrates was much wiser, as he did not believe to possess any wisdom.
He does the same with a craftsman, whom claimed not only to have knowledge of his own trade but of other areas of craft as well. To Socrates this showed that even though the craftsman was very good at his trade, he claimed to have further knowledge and experience in areas to which he really had little to no knowledge
Socrates comes to this discovery by exploring commendable professionals in Athens and comparing his own wisdom to their own. He attempted to find a man who held more wisdom then he and he would present him to his God to prove that he is not the wisest of man. He began by approaching a politician. The politician …show more content…
As Socrates put it “I do not suppose that either of us knows anything really beautiful of good. I am better off than he is – for he knows nothing and thinks that he know. I neither know nor think that I know.” (Jowett, 2007, p.2)
He then continues his search for an answer to the Oracle of Delphi`s credit to himself by further questioning other professionals and comes to the same conclusion. Upon approaching a poet and bringing “the most elaborate passages in their own writing” (Jowett. 2007 p.2) the poet, as Socrates explains, could not teach or explain his writing to Socrates, thus illustrating that his writings did not come from wisdom, but rather from intuition or vision. Exemplifying that Socrates was much wiser, as he did not believe to possess any wisdom.
He does the same with a craftsman, whom claimed not only to have knowledge of his own trade but of other areas of craft as well. To Socrates this showed that even though the craftsman was very good at his trade, he claimed to have further knowledge and experience in areas to which he really had little to no knowledge