There are known knowns
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| - | '''"I know that I know nothing"''' ([[Ancient Greek]]: ἓν οἶδα ὅτι οὐδὲν οἶδα ''hen oída hoti oudén oída''; {{lang-la|scio me nihil scire}} or ''scio me nescire'') is a well-known saying which is attributed to the [[Ancient Greek|Greek]] [[philosopher]] [[Socrates]]. The preferred saying, as recorded in much literature, is "The only real wisdom is knowing you know nothing". | + | In [[epistemology]] and [[decision theory]], the term '''unknown unknown''' refers to circumstances or outcomes that were not conceived of by an observer at a given point in time. The meaning of the term becomes more clear when it is contrasted with the '''known unknown''', which refers to circumstances or outcomes that are known to be possible, but it is unknown whether or not they will be realized. The term is used in project planning and decision analysis to explain that any model of the future can only be informed by information that is currently available to the observer and, as such, faces substantial limitations and unknown risk. |
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| - | == Meaning == | + | |
| - | The impreciseness of the [[English language|English]] translation stems from the fact that the author is not saying that he does not know anything but means instead that one cannot know anything with absolute certainty but can feel confident about certain things. | + | |
| - | + | ||
| - | == Origin == | + | |
| - | The citation is probably borrowed from Socrates' [[Apology (Plato)|Apology]] which [[Plato]] handed down: | + | |
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| - | <blockquote> | + | |
| - | {{polytonic|[…] οὖτος μὲν οἴεταί τι εἰδέναι οὐκ εἰδώς, ἐγὼ δέ, ὥσπερ οὖν οὐκ οἶδα, οὐδὲ οἴμαι}} | + | |
| - | </br> | + | |
| - | — ''This man, on one hand, believes that he knows something, while not knowing [anything]. On the other hand, I - equally ignorant - do not believe [that I know anything].'' | + | |
| - | </blockquote> | + | |
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| - | Socrates also deals with this phrase in Plato's dialogue [[Meno]] when he says: | + | |
| - | + | ||
| - | <blockquote> | + | |
| - | {{polytonic|καὶ νῦν περὶ ἀρετῆς ὃ ἔστιν ἐγὼ μὲν οὐκ οἶδα, σὺ μέντοι ἴσως πρότερον μὲν ᾔδησθα πρὶν ἐμοῦ ἅψασθαι, νῦν μέντοι ὅμοιος εἶ οὐκ εἰδότι.}} | + | |
| - | </br> | + | |
| - | —''So now I do not know what virtue is; perhaps you knew before you contacted me, but now you are certainly like one who does not know.'' (trans. G.M.A. Grube) | + | |
| - | </blockquote> | + | |
| - | + | ||
| - | Here, Socrates aims at the change of Meno's opinion, who was a firm believer in his own opinion and whose claim to knowledge Socrates had disproved. | + | |
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| - | It is essentially the question that began philosophy. Socrates begins all wisdom with wondering, thus one must begin with admitting one's ignorance. | + | |
| == See also == | == See also == | ||
| - | * [[Ancient Greek]] | ||
| - | * [[Gnothi seauton]] | ||
| * [[Ignoramus et ignorabimus]] | * [[Ignoramus et ignorabimus]] | ||
| - | * [[Maieutics]] | + | * [[Ignotum per ignotius]] |
| - | * [[Münchhausen Trilemma]] | + | * [[I know that I know nothing]] |
| - | * [[Sapere aude]] | + | * [[Johari window]] |
| - | * [[Unknown unknown]] | + | * [[List of political catch phrases]] |
| + | * [[Outside Context Problem]] | ||
| + | * [[Black swan theory]] | ||
| + | * [[Dunning-Kruger effect]] | ||
| {{GFDL}} | {{GFDL}} | ||
Revision as of 07:42, 3 January 2011
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In epistemology and decision theory, the term unknown unknown refers to circumstances or outcomes that were not conceived of by an observer at a given point in time. The meaning of the term becomes more clear when it is contrasted with the known unknown, which refers to circumstances or outcomes that are known to be possible, but it is unknown whether or not they will be realized. The term is used in project planning and decision analysis to explain that any model of the future can only be informed by information that is currently available to the observer and, as such, faces substantial limitations and unknown risk.
See also
- Ignoramus et ignorabimus
- Ignotum per ignotius
- I know that I know nothing
- Johari window
- List of political catch phrases
- Outside Context Problem
- Black swan theory
- Dunning-Kruger effect
Unless indicated otherwise, the text in this article is either based on Wikipedia article "Unknown unknown" or another language Wikipedia page thereof used under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License; or on research by Jahsonic and friends. See Art and Popular Culture's copyright notice.
