404·Quotes

On display — unsourced

“Wonder is the beginning of wisdom.”
Label

Attributed to Socrates

Nearest source: Plato, Theaetetus 155d

Unsourced Not in these words. In Plato's Theaetetus (155d) Socrates says that philosophy, not wisdom, begins in wonder.

Did Socrates say “Wonder is the beginning of wisdom”? Not in those words: in Plato's Theaetetus, wonder is the beginning of philosophy

Not in these words. In Plato's dialogue Theaetetus (155d), Socrates tells the young Theaetetus that wonder is the feeling of a philosopher and that “philosophy begins in wonder”. The popular version swaps philosophy for wisdom, which changes the claim: Socrates is talking about where inquiry starts, not about where wisdom comes from.

What it means

Feeling puzzled is not a failure to understand; it is where understanding starts. The person who stops and wonders why something is so has already begun to think about it properly.

Where it comes from

Theaetetus, a gifted young mathematician, has just admitted that some puzzles about size and number make his head swim. Socrates replies, in Benjamin Jowett's translation: “I see, my dear Theaetetus, that Theodorus had a true insight into your nature when he said that you were a philosopher, for wonder is the feeling of a philosopher, and philosophy begins in wonder.” He adds a pun from Greek myth: whoever said that Iris, the messenger of the gods, is the child of Thaumas (whose name means wonder) was a good genealogist.

Harold North Fowler's translation of the same passage reads: “this feeling of wonder shows that you are a philosopher, since wonder is the only beginning of philosophy.” Neither translation says “wisdom”. The line is credited to Socrates because he speaks it in Plato's dialogue; Socrates himself wrote nothing, so every saying of his reaches us through someone else.

Other versions you will see

  • “Philosophy begins in wonder.”
    Plato, Theaetetus 155d, Jowett's translation
  • “Wonder is the only beginning of philosophy.”
    Plato, Theaetetus 155d, Fowler's translation

Provenance

  1. Primary textPlato, Theaetetus, trans. Benjamin Jowett — Project Gutenberg eBook #1726
  2. Primary textPlato, Theaetetus 155d, trans. Harold North Fowler — Perseus Digital Library (Tufts)

Last reviewed 6 October 2026

Questions

Did Socrates say “Wonder is the beginning of wisdom”?

Not in those words. In Plato's Theaetetus (155d) he says that philosophy begins in wonder.

Where does “philosophy begins in wonder” come from?

Plato's dialogue Theaetetus, at 155d, where Socrates says it to the young mathematician Theaetetus.

What does it mean?

That inquiry starts with puzzlement: noticing that something does not make sense is the first step towards understanding it.

Where this one hangs

It belongs in the Wisdom room, with the other checked lines on the same subject.

Nearby exhibits