Wise is She who Knows that She Does Not Know

I've heard this idea everywhere lately and I absolutely love it. This idea began when I was reading the Death and Trial of Socrates: The Four Dialogues by Plato in my honors class. When we discussed it, I fell in love with the idea because I completely agree and I loved the way he worded it "As for me, all I know is that I know nothing." Socrates was told by the Oracle at Delphi that he was the wisest man in Athens, and I believe that he was wise because he understood that he didn't even begin to know everything that there is to know. You can't be wise if you think that you know everything, and you can't be wise if you think you know nothing. If you know that you know some things, but don't know even a portion of all that there is to know, you are wise. I also saw this quote in Sophie's World, a book I've started to read about the history of philosophy. It was talking about Socrates being wise in a really down to earth way and I really enjoyed it. I laughed when I caught the reference to the quote from the other book I had read about two days before.

I believe that there is so much to learn that it is impossible to learn it all. You have to understand that to be able to open yourself up to wisdom. Your life experiences, combined with the knowledge you have makes you wise but also the knowledge that you don't know all there is to know plays a major part. If someone knows that they are wise because they think they are, they're not wise. If someone else sees the wisdom in someone and that person doesn't believe that they are wise, then the person is truly wise.

I understand that I don't know all that there is to know and I accept that. I will work to learn all that I can though because I believe that knowledge is the key to a successful life, a happy life, and is the key to moving society forward. People have to be knowledgeable and educated for anything worthwhile to get done. If we don't know what we're doing and aren't educated about what is going on, we won't advance our society in any sense of the word. Education is the key.