Why did Socrates say "I know that I know nothing" and what did he mean by it?
It is a self-contradiction if he said that because he claims to know something—that he knows nothing! I doubt he would contradict himself so easily though. He also said, “To commence learning, you must admit your ignorance.” If one knows nothing, would they know it? Socrates was a believer in God as the was Plato and Aristotle though not so formulated as the Hebrews had. The Bible says, “Anyone who thinks he knows something doesn’t yet know as he ought to know.” The Genesis of all learning then is realized ignorance. The more educated you become, the more you realize you do not know and need more education!
If he did say it, he was referring to being skeptical and starting from scratch and not assuming anything. All knowledge begins in faith. You have to believe you know something to know anything. Uncertainty is the starting point and beginning of a discovery of knowledge and often its outcome. We may find out we know squat about something we claim to know something. We will discover all knowledge is contingent beginning by accepting a presupposition we cannot prove or disprove.
