In Socratic philosophy, what is the relationship between virtue and knowledge?

In Socratic philosophy, the relationship between virtue and knowledge is deeply intertwined, as Socrates posits that knowledge is fundamentally linked to virtue, suggesting that to truly know what is good is to act virtuously. The central idea here is that if a person possesses knowledge—specifically, knowledge of good and evil—then they will act in accordance with that knowledge, leading to virtuous behavior. Socrates famously argued that ignorance is the root of all wrongdoing; thus, to understand virtue is to truly understand the nature of goodness.

This perspective implies that virtue cannot be separated from knowledge, as the capacity to act virtuously is predicated on possessing the knowledge of what virtue entails. Therefore, claiming that virtue and knowledge are the same reflects Socratic ethics, where one cannot genuinely be virtuous without knowledge of the good.