Socrates: “What I Do Not Know…”

Source and attribution

The archive attributes this English wording to Plato, Apology 21d (later paraphrase of the idea) and files it under Socratic School. That locator distinguishes the passage from loose internet attributions: readers can return to the named work or section to check translation, surrounding argument, and edition-specific wording.

About Socrates

Socrates (c. 470/469–399 BCE) was an Athenian citizen who wrote nothing and yet redirected Greek philosophy from cosmology toward ethics and the care of the soul.

Interpretation

The sentence summarises Socrates' position at his trial rather than quoting Plato directly: after consulting politicians, poets, and craftsmen, he concludes that his superiority consists solely in not claiming knowledge he lacks. The claim is methodological, not sceptical. Socrates does not deny that knowledge is possible; he denies that he has it, and treats that denial as the starting point of inquiry. The Oracle's saying that no one is wiser becomes, on his reading, a reason to keep examining.

Why it matters

The distinction worth keeping is between holding a view and knowing it. Most disagreements would shrink if people stated which of the two they were doing.

Concepts in this quote

Knowledge: Knowledge is the philosophical study of what we can justifiably claim to know—and where certainty ends.
Humility: Humility appears in this archive as a live philosophical concern—not a slogan. These verified English passages show how thinkers treat humility as a problem of judgment, practice, or explanation.
Wisdom: Wisdom is practical insight under uncertainty: knowing what matters, what one does not know, and how to act without false certainty.

How to cite this quotation

APA: Socrates. (n.d.). What I do not know, I do not claim to know. In Philosophy Blind Box. https://www.philosophydef.com/quotes/q0002

MLA: Socrates. “What I do not know, I do not….” Philosophy Blind Box, https://www.philosophydef.com/quotes/q0002.

Chicago: Socrates. “What I do not know, I do not….” Philosophy Blind Box. Accessed 2026. https://www.philosophydef.com/quotes/q0002.

Frequently asked questions

What is the source of the quotation “What I do not know, I do not…”?

The passage is attributed to Socrates, Plato, Apology 21d (later paraphrase of the idea). The archive attributes this English wording to Plato, Apology 21d (later paraphrase of the idea) and files it under Socratic School. That locator distinguishes the passage from loose internet attributions: readers can return to the named work or section to check translation, surrounding argument, and edition-specific wording.

What does Socrates mean by knowledge?

Epistemology asks whether knowledge is justified true belief, reliable tracking of the world, or something else; it also asks how perception, testimony, memory, and reason contribute. This passage enters that discussion through knowledge, humility, wisdom.