"The beginning of wisdom is the admission of one's ignorance." Was Socrates right?
by 
philosopher-saint
ANSWERS: 13
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Seems like it. You can't learn if you're arrogant about what you don't know, after all.
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I think so. Those who are most ignorant are those who think they are wise and have nothing left to learn.
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I believe so. Once you get convictions and arrogance out of the way, you accept that there is always more to learn, and therefore, do as much, since barricades have now been displaced.
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Definitely. Ignorant people always think they know everything, whereas people that are truly wise are the first to admit their ignorance.
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Absolutely, the greatest learning tool, is in the ability to say, I don't know.
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You have to truely experience this your self to understand this, if you truely know nothing you can truely listen to someone, with out directing them or making judgement ,because you know nothing , so how can you judge some body, and who are any of us to Judge?
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What do you think?
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Yes he was.
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It's catchy, but I think it slightly misses the mark... it's not the realization of ignorance that shocks the system, its the realization of uncertainty. When someone truly sees that ALL of their knowledge comes with varying degrees of uncertainty that can never be completely eliminated, that disrupts the "foundational" relationship to knowledge. One must stop thinking that they're going to grasp the absolute truth with both hands and hold on tight, and come up with another way to relate to life, learning, and wisdom.
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I believe in part yes. It takes insight to realize your ego may be showing you a image of your own intelligence that might be bigger than it really is.
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Yes, if you can't admit to yourself that you don't know something you can never learn more. If you think you are right, and that what you believe is the absolute truth then you will never be able to learn more about that to come to a different conclusion.
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On one hand, I've always held this idea as a cornerstone in my philosophy of education. But at some point, this admission leads to the sense that we not only DON'T know, but CAN'T--it's overwhelming and can be crippling to one's intellectual endeavors. I wonder if it's best to KNOW that we don't know (so that arrogance doesn't overtake us), but act as if we do (or at least CAN). I'm starting to think that always being wrong beats a life without convictions.
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I wouldnt know as I'm far too ignorant to tell.
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