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Philosophy & Wisdom

This story, as told by Plato, was shared with me by Peng Sing. It reminds us that the 'truths' we understand are limited. And they are often limited by ourselves.

There's a story about Socrates and the oracle of Delphi. Some guy went to ask the oracle, is there anyone wiser than Socrates - the oracle said no, no man is wiser than Socrates. The news came to Socrates, and he was shocked because Socrates was sure that he wasn't the wisest man, it's just not possible, because he was so aware of the limits of human knowledge and his own limits so he goes around asking many groups of people: politicians (who were absolutely sure i.e. overconfident), poets (who didn't really know what they were saying, but compose beautiful verses out of gut feeling), craftsmen (who were experts in their own field, but mistakenly take their expertise as wisdom). He realizes that no matter who he asks, nobody seems to be aware of his own ignorance. That's when he realizes that the oracle is correct - not because Socrates is the wisest man, but because there is no such thing as a wise man. Man can pursue wisdom, but will never be wise: he can only become aware of his own ignorance.