“All I Know Is That I Know Nothing.“ — Socrates

 “All I Know Is That I Know Nothing.“

— Socrates

Often considered one of the most famous quotes in all Western philosophy. For over 2,000 years many philosophers hold this saying from Socrates has profound philosophical implications. Similar to Socrates, Russell finds our beliefs and opinions can never have true certainty. While our beliefs and opinions are certainly our own, we can never know for sure if they are beyond question. 

“The whole problem with the world is that fools and fanatics are always so certain of themselves, and wiser people so full of doubts.“

 Bertrand Russell 

“The demand for certainty is one which is natural to man, but is nevertheless an intellectual vice. To endure uncertainty is difficult, but so are most of the other virtues.“Bertrand Russell

Bertrand Russell comments “All I Know Is That I Know Nothing.“

“The Platonic Socrates consistently maintains that he knows nothing, and is only wiser than others in knowing that he knows nothing; but he does not think knowledge by itself unobtainable. On the contrary, he thinks the search for knowledge of the utmost importance.“

Bertrand Russell, A History of Western Philosophy (1945), Book One, Part II. Socrates, Plato, and Aristotle, Ch. XI: Socrates, p. 92

“The Platonic Socrates professes to know nothing; we naturally treat this as irony, but it could be taken seriously. Many of the Socratic dialogues reach no positive conclusion, and aim at leaving the reader in a state of doubt. Some--the latter half of the Parmenides, for instance--might seem to have no purpose except to show that either side of any question can be maintained with equal plausibility. The Platonic dialectic could be treated as an end, rather than a means, and if so treated it lent itself admirably to the advocacy of Scepticism.“

Bertrand Russell, A History of Western Philosophy (1945), Book One, Part II. Socrates, Plato, and Aristotle, Ch. XXVI: Cynics and Sceptics,

Background: I know that I know nothing.

“I know that I know nothing“ is a saying derived from Plato's account of the Greek philosopher Socrates: “For I was conscious that I knew practically nothing...“ (Plato, Apology 22d). It is also sometimes called the Socratic paradox, although this name is often instead used to refer to other seemingly paradoxical claims made by Socrates in Plato's dialogues (most notably, Socratic intellectualism and the Socratic fallacy). This saying is also connected or conflated with the answer to a question Socrates (according to Xenophon) or Chaerephon (according to Plato) is said to have posed to the Pythia, the Oracle of Delphi, in which the oracle stated something to the effect of “Socrates is the wisest person in Athens.“ Socrates, believing the oracle but also completely convinced that he knew nothing, was said to have concluded that nobody knew anything and that he was only wiser than others because he was the only person who recognized his own ignorance. The paraphrased saying, though widely attributed to Plato's Socrates in both ancient and modern times, actually occurs nowhere in Plato's works in precisely the form “I know I know nothing.“ Plato scholars have recently argued that the claim should not be attributed to Plato's Socrates.

Image: Bust of Socrates. Marble, Roman artwork (1st century), perhaps a copy of a lost bronze statue made by Ancient Greek sculptor Lysippos. Currently housed in The Musée du Louvre, Paris France.