the (un)examined life

My relationship with Philosophy started when I encountered one of Socrates’ famous dictums, claiming that the only certainty he has about anything was the fact that he knows nothing. It was such an honour to be acquainted with both Philosophy and Socrates through six simple words that hold so much weight.

Greek —           Ξέρω πως δεν ξέρω τίποτα
English —         I know that I know nothing

In that moment, I wish I had stumbled upon it sooner. Perhaps even if I did, I would not have access to the true meaning of Socrates’ words. My untrained mind would have opposed such a proclamation – how is it even possible that anyone can know nothing. Surely, one must have accumulated knowledge through formal or informal education while growing up. It reminded me of something a religious preacher mentioned about scriptures. In the past when the rate of literacy was low, laypeople were not allowed to have access to religious scriptures because they could be misunderstood or misinterpreted. Fast forward to modern times, the religious preacher indicated that one should get oneself educated before delving into those scriptures. My 9-year-old mind felt that this was discriminatory because at that time, I believed that truth ought to be accessible to all, not just those who could afford education. While I credit the religious educators on their best intentions, more can be done to clarify such statements to impressionable minds.

It was only when I morphed into a full-fledged bookworm that I began to reflect on those words. My childhood was spent reading fiction and as I approached teenhood, I moved on to more serious literature. It was then that I was acquainted with Philosophy, spending the following years consuming it as much as I could as I was hungry for answers to questions that religion could not provide. Well, religion did provide some answers but they weren’t to my satisfaction. Here’s where Socrates came in and changed my life. It dawned on me that the panacea to conflicts lies in his proclamation, if only everyone was taught it when they embark on life’s arduous journey of attaining knowledge.

So, what was it that Socrates was trying to say. Here’s my understanding of it.

It is impossible to know everything. Even when you get yourself trained and specialised in one area of study, there are many aspects to that subject which you will not have access to unless you study those too. But when you delve into them, it is inevitable that they lead to other aspects or areas of study. Hence, knowledge and information are infinite. It is metaphysically impossible to know a whole subject, let alone everything else.

Socrates engaged a hyperbole to teach us that we can all be equals through our universal ignorance. Truly then, if we had access to this wisdom, conflicts can be resolved through compromise. Thinking back to the religious preacher, I could appreciate her caution against the ignorant accessing the scriptures. However, she failed to include misguided – either by hubris or greed – intellects. Both the ignorant and misguided intellects are equally dangerous but the latter leverages on the former to support their causes. We see this happening around the world as countries fight for dominance through political manipulations. On the individual level, friends grow spiteful, families get torn apart, children get bullied, all because one party believes that they are better than the other. They are certain that they know more, that they know better.

The mere claim of knowing more should be investigated further. Only when we’re willing to engage in a discussion, as open-minded interlocutors, can we then embrace our universal ignorance and act kinder towards each other. Maybe if we focus on mandating good character as soon as a child is born, instead of perpetuating established systems, cultivating unnecessary hatred towards any groups of people and, indoctrinating solutions to problems generated by previous generations, can we then dream of a better future for the world.

How about if we were all welcomed into the world with a knowledge hymn instead of the usual rush to ensure the certainty of a deity or badgering on the rules of life (both inevitably cultivating a victim mindset), which vary within each cultural household.

We could start with a slightly positive twist to Socrates’ dictum:

We know everything, and yet we know nothing

Only then can we start an honest conversation about life, and everything else that comes with it.