Reflections on Socrates Quote

Reflection “A philosopher knows that in reality he knows very little”.. ”One thing only I know, and that is that i know nothing” – Socrates

There above quote is a pre-cursor to the wisdom the great philosopher Socrates has. The above quote is true in many ways such as the fact that we know barely more than what we can see. The above quote explains the microscopic insects we are in the universe. It explains how we cannot merely think that we know everything when in reality we are all very small in the grand magic trick which is the universe.

We are only here for a brief lapse of time in which we have to explore and understand the universe for what it is. What we see every day with our eyes is nothing to the mystery that is our world. One can look scientifically through a telescope and see how it is a baby is conceived, or why there is a solar eclipse every couple of years. However nobody has ever come close to describing how our universe was created or how it is that reality came to be. Therefore as Socrates says we know nothing, and that is all we know.

This however does not mean that we are not to try and understand the magic trick that is being performed. ”A philosopher knows in reality that he knows very little” this quote in fact comes from somebody who throughout his life has been in the pursuit of knowledge. This shows how much the average person knows and how much there is too know. However one cannot think that to know everything would necessarily be a good thing because the truth is something a lot of us probably could not handle.

Those who dare to pursue the truth about life and the universe are philosophers and only after searching for the truth for a while can you come close to understanding it and realizing that in reality you know absolutely nothing. In your short life of less than 100 years, how can you come close to understand the mystery that started 4 billion years ago with the birth of our sun? It is a mystery that started their and has continued on until the present day. Socrates has explored many different aspects of philosophy and the world.

It takes a truly educated person to realize that he knows nothing. This is mind blowing when you think of how much there is to know. There are so many questions that are left unanswered day to day. Some try and ignore them and are happy with their ordinary lives, while others cannot seem to ignore these pending questions and try to understand them like the ancient philosopher Socrates. Only through trying to understand these questions can you possible gain enough knowledge to realize that you know nothing.

Understanding one’s self is very important in the pursuit of truth because how can you seek truth if you aren’t true with yourself in the first place. This is one of the greatest mistakes of man is to think they are wise in a false wisdom. You cannot be wise without fully knowing one’s self which requires you to be true to one’s self. It is impossible to be true to one’s self if you think that you are knowledgeable of all things and that there is nothing anybody can teach you. You must always be open to learn new things if you want to know more than nothing.