ancient socrates

socratic ignorance

Socrates’ claim that he is wise only in recognizing he does not possess knowledge of the most important matters, which allows him to expose others’ false confidence in knowledge.

elenchus

Socrates’ method of questioning that exposes contradictions in

a person’s beliefs in order to show that they do not know what they claim to know.

anamnesis

Plato’s theory that learning is the recollection of knowledge the soul possessed before birth, explaining how we can know truths not derived from sense experience.

form

a non-physical, eternal, and perfect entity that is the true object of knowledge and explains why particular things are what they are

appearance vs reality

Plato’s claim that sensory experiences present misleading appearances, and true reality consists of intelligible forms grasped by reason

Beauty itself

the Form of Beauty that is perfectly beautiful, unchanging, and the ultimate object of knowledge behind all beautiful things