Socrates has many interesting views on various concepts and ideas. It delves into how these concepts and ideas can be harmful or beneficial to human existence. Socrates is known to be one of the greatest philosophers in history. He is recognized for being well versed in philosophy and for the profound knowledge he possesses. However, the information we know about Socrates was not documented by Socrates. Our information about Socrates was documented by his student, Plato. One of Socrates' most interesting perspectives is his view of human wisdom. From certain points of view, it can be said that Socrates' theory of human wisdom is contradictory. Saying what we know, or what we think we know, about wisdom today does not quite correspond to Socrates' view on wisdom. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an Original Essay Today's definition of wisdom can be defined as "the quality of having experience, knowledge, and good judgment...the ability to make rational decisions" based on the knowledge you possess or obtain. But Socrates has a different way of seeing wisdom. Socrates thinks that wisdom is having the ability to understand that one does not know everything and that it is foolish to think otherwise. A famous quote from Socrates on wisdom is “I do not think that I know what I do not know.” What Socrates is saying here is that if you don't have knowledge about a certain topic, idea, or concept, don't talk about it as if you do. If you don't know or understand the topic, it's best not to share your opinions about it and fool yourself into believing what you're talking about. Socrates stood firm in acknowledging his ignorance and accepting it. In fact, Socrates shows this idea in a very modest way. One of Socrates' friends, Chaerephon asked the oracles if there was anyone as wise as Socrates? The oracle responded and told Chaerephon no. When Socrates heard about this, he was confused. Because of the way Socrates sees himself in the light of wisdom, he could not believe that anyone was as wise or achieved more wisdom than him. So he took it upon himself to defy the oracles and go find someone who was wiser than him. What Socrates discovered during this investigation was that there were people who were very wise in what they were adequately skilled at but, those same wise people were very ignorant in other aspects but pretended to be wise in those areas which they highlighted their true ignorance. Remember: this is just one example. Get a custom paper from our expert writers now. Get a Custom Essay Socrates says: “I am wiser than this man, for none of us seems to know anything great and good; but he thinks he knows something even though he knows nothing; while I, since I know nothing, don't think I know. Socrates is telling how both he and the man he was talking to were ignorant about a topic but, unlike the man, Socrates didn't pretend to know anything about the topic, he accepted that he was ignorant about the topic and didn't talk about it. And that's when Socrates realized that he was the wisest in recognizing his own ignorance. This led to the Socratic method. Socrates' views and the Socratic method can be used to explain Oedipus' tragic flaw, which ultimately led to his downfall.