Among the great philosophers’ names, Socrates stands as one of the most notable. Born around 470 BCE, the ancient Greek philosopher is largely to thank for founding Western philosophy and was even a major inspiration for Plato, who was his student. But unlike Plato, Socrates didn’t write anything down; instead, all of his iconic quotes, sayings and insights are from dialogues he had with others that they wrote down. But that doesn’t take away from the fact that we still know his name because of how impactful his words were.
A lot of Socrates’s musings had to do with virtue, and he had a ton of integrity and insight. Though he wasn’t as well-respected at the time—he was kind of out there, was the subject of roasts and ridicule, and was sentenced to death for impiety (so says the ancient Greek authorities, of course)—he was a great teacher and constantly questioned everything. Not only did he do a lot of self-reflection, but he also created a form of argumentation that we know today as the Socratic method, per Britannica.
Although he doesn’t have any texts, poems or books he wrote himself, his teachings, thoughts and words live on through others around him at the time. And even though not everything Plato and Xenophon—another prominent student of his—wrote down was verbatim what Socrates said, they’re good guides to figure out who he was. That’s why Parade is highlighting this Socrates quote of the day, because of what it has to say about wisdom and what we can take from it in terms of our own self-reflection.
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Quote of the Day by Socrates
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“Wonder is the beginning of wisdom.”
Again, because Socrates didn’t write things down himself, it’s hard to place this quote directly as to where it came from. Because of his top students and peers relaying his words for him in Greek, there’s also the matter of translations. So while the direct translation is hard to find in different works, this specific quote is a popular one associated with Socrates.
In Plato’s dialogue, Theaetetus, Socrates is in conversation with Theaetetus and Theodorus, and the former says that sometimes his head is swimming with questions all the time, wondering what it all means. To that, Socrates replies that Theodorus was right: Theaetetus was a philosopher. Why?
“... For wonder is the feeling of a philosopher, and philosophy begins in wonder.”
He then says that Iris—a goddess who is the personification of the rainbow and the messenger of the Olympians, specifically the Greek goddess Hera—is the child of Thaumas, who is a sea god and whose name Plato associates with wonder in this dialogue. This means he's equating humans' connection with gods and heaven (Olympus) with a messenger born from wonder.
With all that said, saying wonder spurs on philosophers—who yearn for wisdom and insight—is very Socrates-coded.
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Looking at the quote at face value, Socrates is saying that you can’t just have wisdom and knowledge for the sake of only wanting information. The thing that powers wisdom is wonder; you have to keep wondering and guessing and questioning the world around you in order to gain true wisdom.
It’s kind of like when people say there’s a difference between wisdom and intelligence. You can be smart, but if you don’t have that urge to question things you’re told or things that you learn, you’re not actually wise. If you color within the lines of society and the status quo, you can only reach a certain level of intelligence. Enlightenment and actual wisdom come from thinking outside the box and pushing yourself to keep asking, “Why?”
Wonder can mean a lot of things. It can be your curiosity or contemplation, while also being the emotion you feel as you marvel at something. So to wonder means to really try and see something from all sides; you’re curious to figure this thing out, while also marveling at what makes it tick and why. This can be a physical object, a theory or a concept.
So whether the quote is “philosophy begins in wonder” or “wonder is the beginning of wisdom,” it’s kind of one and the same. With how much Socrates loved to question conformity, it makes sense that he would encourage others to always go beyond what they’re given at face value.
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More Quotes from Socrates
“The unexamined life is not worth living.”“To know is to know that you know nothing. That is the true meaning of knowledge.”“He who is not contented with what he has, would not be contented with what he would like to have.”“Be slow to fall into friendship, but when thou art in continue firm and constant.”“It is better to change an opinion than to persist in a wrong one.”“The poets are only the interpreters of the gods.”Up Next:
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