Lessons from Platos Apology - Essay Example

Three Lesson’s from Plato’s Apology Today Plato is regarded as one of the most famous philosophers and one of the founders of Western philosophy. Plato’s dialogues spans lots of philosophical subjects and continues to be talked about by thinkers and philosophers thousands of years later. One of Plato’s most famous dialogues is the Apology. This dialogue presents Socrates trial and defense in front of the Greek court for having corrupted Athenian youth. This essay looks at three lessons learned from this dialogue, specifically nature of wisdom, the nature of areas of knowledge, and that knowledge in one area does not mean one has knowledge in another area.

The first lesson learned from the Apology relates to the nature of wisdom. After being instructed by the Oracle that he holds profound wisdom, Socrates searches throughout Athens for men of wisdom. Upon encountering one man, Socrates says, “Well, although I do not suppose either of us knows anything really beautiful and good, I am better off than he is – for he knows nothing and thinks that he knows” (Plato, p. 36). Here, Socrates is demonstrating that the true wisdom is not knowledge, but the understanding that humanity is very ignorant.

This is an important lesson as it is still important for the world and has strong implications for people’s daily lives. The second lesson learned from the Apology concerns the nature of established areas of knowledge. After establishing the nature of wisdom, Socrates discusses areas of art and craftsmanship. In these regards, Socrates says, “Meletus has a quarrel with my on behalf of the poets, Anytus, on behalf of the craftsmen, Lycon, on behalf of the orators” (Plato, p. 37). While Socrates had earlier said that true wisdom is the understanding that there is no wisdom, here Socrates is indicating that the areas of knowledge of the poets, craftsmen, and orators, also know nothing.

In these thoughts, I learned from Socrates that many areas of knowledge claim they have wisdom that they don’t. The third lesson learned from the Apology is that while someone might have knowledge in one area it does not necessarily mean that they have knowledge in another area. During Socrates quest to discover people of wisdom he talks to the poets. Socrates says, “I further observed that upon the strength of their poetry they believed themselves to be the wisest of men in other things in which they were not wise” (Plato, p. 36). Here Socrates is saying that the poets believe that since they have poetry knowledge, they also have true wisdom about the world.

From Socrates I learned that such logic is wrong. In conclusion, this essay has examined three lessons learned from Plato’s Apology. The three lessons learned are that true wisdom is the understanding that humans know nothing, that the nature of established areas of knowledge often claims to know things it doesn’t, and that knowledge in one area doesn’t mean knowledge in another area. Taking all these lessons into consideration, it’s clear that people oftentimes makes the mistake of believing it understands things it doesn’t.

ReferencesPlato. The Apology.