Socrates Definition Of Wisdom

The definition of wisdom has shown to be a controversial yet personal discussion among many people, differing from person to person. In the case of Socrates, his definition is explained during his speech for his trial. He states “for the unexamined life is not worth living for men” (38a) showing his strong stance on how being able to question everything you can is what drives wisdom. It also shows his thoughts on how wisdom is personal and something only you can do for yourself, that without opening your mind to questions, you will never understand or care to understand the answers. He also states ironically during his apology that by the belief you know enough to not question further shows more ignorance than his knowledge that he does not …show more content…
After a few moments, he said he believed generally people are not very wise and wisdom is gained through experience and specifically life experience that would allow for things such as empathy and understanding. He then used an example of what he meant, explaining “You can study music your entire life and know the absolute ins and outs, but that doesn 't mean you will be good at applying that knowledge on an actual instrument. Or as you probably know from past situations, doctors can study for years without actually understanding what we feel, but someone with similar problems to yours can understand and relate much easier.” It seems his definition is heavily influenced on one’s ability to apply their knowledge and wisdom to the world around them rather than a more introspective view that Socrates seems to …show more content…
I do agree with Socrates in that the only true path to wisdom is the understanding that the more we begin to know, the more we realize we have so much we do not, and possibly will never understand. Knowing that gives someone the chance to be open to new experiences and the ability to learn from them for future problems that will inevitably