Student Question
What logic does Socrates use to conclude human wisdom is worthless and what two ideas support this?
Quick answer:
Socrates concludes that human wisdom is worthless because true wisdom involves recognizing one's ignorance. He supports this by noting that despite being declared the wisest by the oracle of Delphi, he finds others who claim wisdom to be the most ignorant. Thus, real wisdom lies in understanding one's lack of knowledge. The pursuit of wisdom, not its possession, gives life value, highlighting the paradox of wisdom's worthlessness when one believes they have it.
For Socrates, an unexamined life is not worth living, yet Socrates finds the examined life to lead to the discovery that he has no wisdom. At the same time, the oracle of Delphi has declared Socrates to be the wisest man. To disprove the oracle, he searches for he who must be wiser than himself, as Socrates believes he has no wisdom, and yet, finds that it is those who think they are the most knowledgeable and wise who are indeed the most ignorant. Therefore, wisdom -- as expertise on matters of being human -- is only held by those who have not done enough examining to see their (true) ignorance, and thus the worthlessness of wisdom. If chasing wisdom is what makes a life both examined and worthwhile, then without the chase (which requires not having already achieved or grasped wisdom) there is no worth.
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