Why is it difficult to know exactly what the historical Socrates believed?

Determining the beliefs of the historical Socrates is challenging primarily because he left no writings of his own. Our knowledge of him relies on secondary sources, each with significant limitations:1

• Lack of Contemporary Accuracy: While the playwright Aristophanes depicted Socrates in his comedy Clouds, the work was intended for ridicule rather than an accurate portrait, and Socrates himself rejected it as a fabrication.2
• Literary Interpretation: The most prominent sources, Plato and Xenophon, wrote "Socratic discourses" that were not intended as word-for-word historical reports. Scholars often debate whether these authors used the character of Socrates to advocate for their own philosophical ideas rather than to record the historical figure's actual views.23
• Inconsistency: Plato’s portrayal of Socrates varies; in some dialogues, he is an "ignorant inquirer" seeking definitions, while in others, he presents elaborate, systematic theories. This inconsistency makes it difficult to distinguish between the historical Socrates and the literary character developed by Plato.43

Ultimately, scholars generally agree that we can only reasonably infer the general philosophical orientation and methodology of Socrates, rather than a precise record of his beliefs.23