Plato, Apology handout on irony, socratic wisdom, and three audiences

Who wrote the book About Philosophy and focuses on “Socratic ignorance”?

Professor Robert Paul Wolff

What is the first audience of the Socratic dialogue?

The most naive audience and is usually represented by the young man with some Socrates discourses. When Socrates says, “I am ignorant,” the young man takes this assertion literally and contrasts it with his own supposed state of wisdom.

What is the second audience of the Socratic dialogue?

A more sophisticated audience and is represented by either characters who appear in the dialogue in some peripheral way or by the readers of the dialogue. This audience thinks, “he is not ignorant. His claim of ignorance is purely ironic.” And in a sense, this audience is surely right.

What is the third audience of the Socratic  dialogue?

The most sophisticated of all, represented, it is hoped, by the most sophisticated readers of the dialogue. This audience says, “He is ignorant.” That is to say, in terms of the rigorous standards of which Socrates holds himself and others, he truly does not know.