Donald Robertson

And the god Apollo possessed her and spoke through her, right? And Hierophon, who was another philosopher, a weird dude who people compared to a bat, a respecter. I imagine him almost like a kind of goth or something. He was a bit of a misfit, but he was Socrates' best friend. He was known for doing kind of eccentric things.

So he went to the Delphic Oracle and said, asked it, is any man wiser than Socrates? And it replied, no man is wiser than Socrates. Apollo, the god Apollo, replied, no man is wiser than Socrates. And so the weird story in the Apology is that Socrates found this difficult to accept and so he went around grilling the wisest people that he could find and

So he went to the Delphic Oracle and said, asked it, is any man wiser than Socrates? And it replied, no man is wiser than Socrates. Apollo, the god Apollo, replied, no man is wiser than Socrates. And so the weird story in the Apology is that Socrates found this difficult to accept and so he went around grilling the wisest people that he could find and

So he went to the Delphic Oracle and said, asked it, is any man wiser than Socrates? And it replied, no man is wiser than Socrates. Apollo, the god Apollo, replied, no man is wiser than Socrates. And so the weird story in the Apology is that Socrates found this difficult to accept and so he went around grilling the wisest people that he could find and

to try and find evidence that there was indeed somebody that was wiser than him. Because he didn't believe that no one was wiser than him. But he found that when he asked great philosophers and statesmen, often they contradicted themselves. So he thought they can't be wise. They believe that they are. And the sophists literally called themselves wise men.

to try and find evidence that there was indeed somebody that was wiser than him. Because he didn't believe that no one was wiser than him. But he found that when he asked great philosophers and statesmen, often they contradicted themselves. So he thought they can't be wise. They believe that they are. And the sophists literally called themselves wise men.

to try and find evidence that there was indeed somebody that was wiser than him. Because he didn't believe that no one was wiser than him. But he found that when he asked great philosophers and statesmen, often they contradicted themselves. So he thought they can't be wise. They believe that they are. And the sophists literally called themselves wise men.

But often when they were questioned, the things they were saying were full of contradictions and fell apart. And so Socrates thought, well, look, I come to the conclusion that paradoxically, I don't know much either, but neither do these guys. And I am wiser than them by a hair's breadth because at least I know that I'm not wise, whereas they falsely believe that they are wise, right?

But often when they were questioned, the things they were saying were full of contradictions and fell apart. And so Socrates thought, well, look, I come to the conclusion that paradoxically, I don't know much either, but neither do these guys. And I am wiser than them by a hair's breadth because at least I know that I'm not wise, whereas they falsely believe that they are wise, right?

But often when they were questioned, the things they were saying were full of contradictions and fell apart. And so Socrates thought, well, look, I come to the conclusion that paradoxically, I don't know much either, but neither do these guys. And I am wiser than them by a hair's breadth because at least I know that I'm not wise, whereas they falsely believe that they are wise, right?

And so the central thrust of his method becomes puncturing this kind of intellectual arrogance or conceit. Sometimes it's called double ignorance. So Socrates thought ignorance isn't a problem. Because I might be ignorant about medicine, but if I know I'm ignorant about medicine, I might be motivated to go and consult an expert, right?

And so the central thrust of his method becomes puncturing this kind of intellectual arrogance or conceit. Sometimes it's called double ignorance. So Socrates thought ignorance isn't a problem. Because I might be ignorant about medicine, but if I know I'm ignorant about medicine, I might be motivated to go and consult an expert, right?

And so the central thrust of his method becomes puncturing this kind of intellectual arrogance or conceit. Sometimes it's called double ignorance. So Socrates thought ignorance isn't a problem. Because I might be ignorant about medicine, but if I know I'm ignorant about medicine, I might be motivated to go and consult an expert, right?

I might not know how to fix the engine in my car, but if I go and see a mechanic, I can find somebody that maybe knows better than me. But if I believe that I'm an expert on engines or I believe I'm an expert on medicines and I'm not really, then I'm in trouble because I'll be guided by my ignorance to make lots of mistakes.

I might not know how to fix the engine in my car, but if I go and see a mechanic, I can find somebody that maybe knows better than me. But if I believe that I'm an expert on engines or I believe I'm an expert on medicines and I'm not really, then I'm in trouble because I'll be guided by my ignorance to make lots of mistakes.

I might not know how to fix the engine in my car, but if I go and see a mechanic, I can find somebody that maybe knows better than me. But if I believe that I'm an expert on engines or I believe I'm an expert on medicines and I'm not really, then I'm in trouble because I'll be guided by my ignorance to make lots of mistakes.

So Socrates thought this is one of our biggest problems in life, a bit like the Dunning-Kruger phenomenon, that we believe that we know things that we do not in fact know. So he found that his method was almost like a therapy for curing people of this intellectual conceit. So that's a story that Plato tells, but he also says that he did study philosophy prior to that.

So Socrates thought this is one of our biggest problems in life, a bit like the Dunning-Kruger phenomenon, that we believe that we know things that we do not in fact know. So he found that his method was almost like a therapy for curing people of this intellectual conceit. So that's a story that Plato tells, but he also says that he did study philosophy prior to that.

So Socrates thought this is one of our biggest problems in life, a bit like the Dunning-Kruger phenomenon, that we believe that we know things that we do not in fact know. So he found that his method was almost like a therapy for curing people of this intellectual conceit. So that's a story that Plato tells, but he also says that he did study philosophy prior to that.

Maybe for decades he'd been studying natural philosophy and learning a bit from other philosophers, but his trademark method developed at some point in his life as a result of this weird incident where the Oracle proclaims that no man is wiser than him.