Eckhart TolleNYT Bestselling author of the Power of Now

What Socrates Really Meant by Knowing Nothing | Eckhart Tolle

23 Apr 2026 · 1 min

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In this brief teaching, Eckhart Tolle reflects on Socrates' famous declaration that he is the wisest because he knows that he knows nothing. Tolle argues that Socrates was not merely feigning ignorance but pointing to a profound state of "not knowing"—a condition of no‑thought, pure awareness. From this space of no‑mind, the creative use of the mind and the emergence of philosophy arise. Tolle presents this insight as a timeless spiritual truth linking ancient philosophy to contemporary awareness practice.

Chapters

Remember what the great philosopher Socrates said? "They call me the wisest of all men for the reason that I'm the only one who knows that he knows nothing." People thought he was just pretending not to know, but I'm convinced that he was referring to the state of not knowing which is also, of course, the state of not thinking but awareness, out of which his— the whole philosophy emerged. The creative use of mind emerged out of the space of no mind.