ABSTRACT
The Classics are coming back into fashion, and when it comes to asking smarter questions in the modern knowledge economy, there are few better places to start looking for inspiration than fifth-century BCE Athens. The direct and interconnected lineage of the Socrates, Plato, and Aristotle set the Western tradition of philosophy, science, and enquiry more generally in a direction that has endured for almost 2,500 years. And although a lot of the rough edges have been knocked off along the way – not least by Aristotle in his rejection or correction of some of the principles his teacher Plato held dear – we owe a serious debt to many of the principles they established.
First among these is Socrates’s repeated insistence of his ignorance and the fact that the only thing he knew was that he knew nothing. This, the Socratic Paradox, is the perfect starting point for anyone looking to build understanding because it parks all assumptions and prejudices at the door. In so doing, this naïve and open approach liberates us to ask more and better questions rather than jumping to conclusions.
