Apology

In “Apology,” Plato expounds, through the words of Socrates, one of the most fundamental themes of philosophy— that we know nothing. Though he is being punished for corrupting his followers, he first proves that he has nothing to teach because he knows nothing. He relates to the audience his effort to seek out men who do know something, but finds that they are even more ignorant than him because they think they know though they do not. Even when he is condemned to death, he still stands that death is nothing to fear because one cannot know what it holds. Because Socrates holds that knowing nothing represents true virtue, he has nothing to fear and knows that he is right in standing strong against pretenders.

It is human nature to enter into a situation carrying long held opinions and assumptions. The idea that one’s own opinion is always right operates on the assumption that all others must always be wrong. Because of this, most people shut themselves out from reason and are prevented from learning new ideas.

The ability to realize that one knows nothing is not a simple one. Socrates is aware of this, and therefore elaborates it through long proofs. Even then, he is condemned to death for “corrupting the youth” and challenging long held assumptions. Because of the difficulty in truly grasping this concept, it is something that must be reaffirmed everyday, during every lesson. Philosophy is a way of studying new ideas; therefore, one first must know nothing in order to be open to every possible manner of thought. We all apply labels to ourselves: liberal, conservative, male, female, Christian, Buddhist, etc. Until we realize that these assumptions are preventing us from opening our eyes to new ideas, we cannot grow as human beings. Though I often remind myself to let go of my assumptions, it is something that plagues me every day. By looking at Socrates ability to let go of fear and stand strong, I realize what it takes to truly accept that one “knows nothing.”