What differentiated Socrates from other intellects was not the knowledge but rather the “method” used in his pursuit of the truth.
He contended that the right way for someone to reach a solution to a problem is to approach it “without bias”, to deal with it as if knowing nothing about it at all. Unfortunately people tend to view things differently and fall victim to their own cognizance, which they also assume is “accurate”.
Socrates, who used to say that “the one thing I know is that I know nothing”, was the only person to embrace this truth. And perhaps this, namely that he was aware of his ignorance, was what influenced the judgment of God and made him proclaim that Socrates was the wisest of all men. In fact, even when Socrates did know something about an issue, he pretended complete ignorance. This allowed him to approach matters without prejudice. The primary concern of Socrates was to “see not through colored lenses” but free from any kind of predisposition.
Having dissipated all biases, he then attempted to comprehensively study the issue, by observing it with a clear and pure mindset. After thoroughly investigating all aspects of the problem, he collected the necessary information, documented the basic attributes of the issue and formulated a definition. The formulation of the definition of a notion was the last stage of Socrates’ investigational processes.
The substance of the whole process of seeking knowledge can be expressed through the question “what is X”, where X is the notion of that which initiated the discussion.
Defining the meaning of an issue is of vital importance if we are to acquire any knowledge about it. For instance, we must first understand the meaning of justice before we can consider whether a certain act is just. Knowing the fundamental attributes of justice and using these to compare them with the action itself, will allow one to decipher whether this action can be considered as just or non-just.
According to the above, the method which Socrates introduces as the correct way to approach an issue has three stages: in the first stage one must reject all the underlying prejudices; the second stage involves an in depth investigation of the issue and the third stage is where we have the formulation of the definition of the notion. According to Socrates, knowledge is neither given, nor clear, nor painless. On the contrary, it requires the painstaking process, like the one that he proposed. Socrates compares the process and the agony of acquiring knowledge to that of the child labor. Just as a mother requires the assistance of a midwife to bring her child into the world, the same is true for individuals who need someone to help them in their journey towards the truth and knowledge.
Source: Th. Pelegrinis, Principles of Philosophy, Athens 2002 – p. 21-23
