How do I prove Socrates, "All I know is that I know nothing" for a research paper?

Question

What I'm trying to prove is this quote, because our only concept of knowledge is objective and based on the observations we make through our perceptions and sense-data. Perceptions can be flawed, so the information we get from our senses can be flawed, therefore the conclusions we form based on these perceptions can be flawed, therefore, our knowledge can be flawed. So..it proves Socrates, "All I know is that I know nothing" but how does he KNOW this? Where would I start the research process?

Answer 1

The flaw is flawlessly known only through one's own experience..! The experience of a much deeper perception , well beyond sense organs ! Only standing at the hub, watching the tremendous motion of the wheel, a person can experience that the 'feeling' of this great motion is just about revolving along the same pre-defined circle ! Standing on just the edge of the wheel, the motion, the speed, the wind on our face , all creates a seemingly flawless image of great progress, great control at that tremendous speed, an immense knowledge about the destination, etc !

Answer 2

The quote you are referring to was actually I know nothing except the fact of my ignorance. The sentence means that when you know nothing you ask questions until you are satisfied. In order to prove or disprove something he would ask one of his disciples, lets say Plato, and when Plato would give an answer he would pick apart that answer by asking more questions. So the "Knowledge" that they gain is built from scratch and he would approach everything like this finding philosophical issues in everyday conversation. Which brings another point. If some uses the Socratic method to gain knowledge then if would be dependent on other people and where they are located and what life experiences they each had. Which means that the "knowledge" they gain is relative to the people and region. So there is no such thing as absolute knowledge bringing you back to the quote that "I know nothing except the fact of my ignorance" because all knowledge is relative. There is also only one absolute and that is that there are no absolutes.

Answer 3

Most philosophic proofs disprove the opposite of a statement. Disprove "I know something." For extra points? Use the Socratic Method and ask a lot of open ended, easily disproved hypothetical questions.

If a person claims they know something. Have they made errors in the past? Did they claim to have knowledge then? Did they err because they missed a piece of information? How can they prove they have all information now? If we are all limited by our perceptions, then is it knowledge or luck when we get something right? If we are missing information, how do we then even know that we got something right?

While disproving man's objective knowledge-try using the example of a blind man or an animal (or Socrates used shadows) to demostrate the limitations of perception.

Answer 4

You can start with the fact that our knowledge - up to this very moment - has ‎proven to be mere "theories" of what is ‎really called "ultimate truth" - another nickname we give to the real knowledge ‎that we can never attain with the tools we have. Socrates realized that the ‎wider the opening through which our minds look, the larger the hidden facts and ‎potentials of reality, hence, the smaller our current knowledge looks compared to ‎the ever growing gap between our perception and solid reality hidden out there. ‎

Ralph Waldo Emerson once said, "I am nothing; I see all". That was a similar ‎experience. The larger your scope gets, the smaller your perception becomes.‎

Then you can move to prove that all our scientific discoveries are of the "crust" ‎of creation. A horizontal movement of the mind over oceans and oceans of ‎vertical realities lying underneath the materialistic mesh of Time, Space and ‎Causation. Our knowledge is contingent with our tools. No matter how far you travel horizontally, your knowledge of the ‎vertical realities remains zilch. Hence, Socrates was right.‎

Answer 5

I would start with experiments and history that has gone wrong.. such as the earth being flat and things of that nature. It sounds like you are on the right track. I would also try interviewing people and taking views from their own lives to get a "present" take on the quote. You could even research Socrates on life and find out where that quote would fit in his life. Hope this helps. The war is a good example too.

Answer 6

Well, you've already made a point: our knowledge is limited by what we already "know." Knowledge is subjective, not objective, and you never know when your senses may be giving you misinformation. Also, there's more out there to know than just the stuff we already now. In the middle ages, most of our science would be termed magic. People didn't know what we knew now, and there would be no way for them to comprehend it if we did try to explain it to them. There's more we don't know than we do know, since we'll never know the workings of every group of people on earth or even the names of them. There's more out there to know than we have time to learn. Hope this helps. I think this is what Socrates was referring to: he only knew what he thought was knowledge, but could be misinformation, and he knew that there was no way he could know even a fraction of everything.

Answer 7

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Answer 8

If you took a religous approach you could go about it like this: God knows all, everything and we are merely creations of His that He gives knowledge too by following His law. Thus we know that we know nothing without God, that being the only thing that we do know :)

Answer 9

You have to reference the divided line. Read the Meno and the relevant part in the Republic for Plato's theory.

Answer 10

In the beginning.....there was nothing...