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The relevance of ethics
Aristotle believes that friendship is necessary for a virtuous and therefore happy life
Ethics and its importance
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If you have ever questioned the way you are living your life and decided to challenge natural conventions, than you may have gotten along quite well with an ancient philosopher named Socrates. Socrates lived from 469 BC to 399 BC when he was sentenced to death by the Athenian government, which he accepted. Socrates was one of the most influential philosophers in history, yet he did not write anything down. Therefore, all of the literature about Socrates was written by other people, principally by Plato, his most important student. Plato wrote many books about Socrates including Alcibiades, The Apology, and The Allegory of the Cave. These texts express Socrates’ beliefs that authority should be questioned and people should develop their own set of morals and gain knowledge by asking questions using the Socratic method. Having no purpose in life and never questioning anything is not an effective way to live, but questioning everything and disregarding all types of authority is not an effective way to live either. Socrates advocates for us to question everything, and while questioning life is good, we still need structure and discipline, which is not accounted for by Socrates. “The unexamined life is not worth living,” this is a very famous quote by Socrates, and it means that if you are not examining your life and asking questions about the life of yourself and others than you should not be living at all. Socrates was willing to go up to complete strangers and ask them why they were living their life a certain way (De Botton). Asking questions and the use of dialogue was the primary way that Socrates gained knowledge and exposed the ignorance of others. This idea can be seen throughout Alcibiades, when Socrates uses his ... ... middle of paper ... ...king the question “Why?”, but this does not seem like a way to find true happiness. Calling everything we know into question does not seem like a logical solution to our problems. However, examining our conscience and trying to find direction in our lives seems like a scaled down way to apply Socrates’ philosophy. We do not have the answers to our existence, and we may never find them, so instead of living alone and in fear of everything we know or do not know, we should make the most of our lives and try to find happiness through ourselves and along with other people. The way to reach happiness is by developing great friendships and loving relationships with the people around us, and working together to make the world a better place. Socrates and his ideas have been very influential throughout history, but his teachings no longer seem practical in today’s world.
Socrates explains that his goal was not to teach the people of Athens, but to serve them like his mother did. Using his method called “the Socratic method” which is also found in the reading Euthyphro, he defines a good act as something that is good because it has value towards our efforts making us happier and better people rather than the Gods consider it to be a good act. As you can see, the Gods and the higher people from Athens didn’t agree on Socrates views which were the reason for his early death by poison (hemlock) condemned by the upper people of Athens. He stated that happiness was found by putting less attention to the whole body but rather to the soul of one’s body. The goal of his “Socratic method” was to clear the way of knowledge by showing where ignorance was. He was a person open to all knowledge but viewed it in a different way most people would. He admitted to himself being an ignorant person but a person with passion and knowledge to where his views are and where his mindset is. He explained that happiness didn’t involve in someone’s length of life but mostly the quality of someone’s life. For example, Benito Mussolini an Italian politician and creation of fascism, he states “It is better to live one day as a lion than 100 years as a sheep.” I’d have to agree myself that I’d rather live one day as a strong ferocious beast with pride than 100 years being a weak prey not knowing when life can get better. In Socrates views on this he presents an argument as to what happiness is that is as powerful today as when he first discussed it over 2400 years ago. Basically, Socrates is concerned to establish two main points: 1) happiness is what all
People on the opposing side may argue that one should not examine their life because it is better to be happy rather than be aware and unhappy. The Athenians are a prime example of ignorance is bliss, which is basically what the opposing side is supporting. As stated earlier, the Athenians chose to kill Socrates rather than accept the fact that they are naive. They clearly would rather want to be ignorant and happy, walking around like they are very intelligent, as opposed to being aware that they aren’t as smart as they believed to be and unhappy with that fact. However, such critics fail to realize that one should examine their life so that they may have an advanced level of perception. Socrates is a prime example of acquiring an advanced
Socrates view of the world around him saw corruption overtaking the innocence of the human soul. He noticed that people were in search of an unattainable reality, only focusing on materialistic and unimportant things. If people focused more on the quality of their lives rather than the time they had left on earth, Socrates believes that they would become more virtuous beings and capable of happiness, the most important
Socrates saw three arguments over how to find happiness: Symposium, Republic, and Euthydemus. In Euthydemus, happiness is always good because it is the goal of all that we do. It also concludes that it is only dependent on what is done with one’s response to circumstances, not the circumstances in themselves. No matter what advantages a person has in life, whether its beauty, skill in art, or wealth, they can be utilized in a way that causes that person unhappiness. On a different note, Symposium decides love and desire are the paths to happiness. However, it also states that following this path to happiness always leaves one half-satisfied. In order to gain a happy and satisfied life one must experience a realization of true beauty. Socrates thought true beauty was found in a
After having heard the guilty verdict of his trial, Socrates hypothetically entertains a question that he suspects many in the courtroom would want to know. He asks “But Socrates, if you leave us, will you not be able to live quietly, without talking?” (Grube 39). He immediately rejects this idea, explaining that he believes the “unexamined life is not for man worth living” (Grube 39). This sentiment, and Socrates’ philosophy in general, have had a huge influence on western philosophy. Still, what is meant by this statement remains up to interpretation and, even with an agreement about what it means, the statement remains controversial. I aim to tackle both issues: I hope to interpret and define what Socrates meant by the statement and to
“The philosopher Socrates remains, as he was in his lifetime, an enigma, an instructable individual who, despite having written nothing, is considered one of the handful of philosophers who forever changed how philosophy itself was to be conceived”(Nails). A great philosopher named Socrates once changed the very way man perceived nature. Socrates was a man that lived life to its fullest, from being a foot soldier, or hoplite, to freelancing around the town hall barefoot and smelly. Socrates, because he never wrote or recorded anything, is only known today from non-primary sources, and the majority of what we know is only from the second half of his life.
Socrates is unable to remain silent about his thoughts because “the unexamined life is not worth living”. He even backed up this claim in with the following statement: “Men of Athens, I salute you and hold you dear, but I will obey the god rather than you, and so long as I take breath and am able, I will never cease philosophizing.” It is implied that people should reflect on their beliefs and debate about what they do and do not know, all while seeking out and upholding the values which create a meaningful and well lived
Socrates believed in the importance of happiness, self achievement and fulfilling goals without hurting yourself or others. A person, who cannot find happiness is living a life that is not worth living. A Person should gain the value of life and inner happiness through studying and examining the life, the world around, and the internal world of him/her self. Life became purposeful and fruitful. Otherwise, the life would be pointless and
Socrates wrote “The unexamined life is not a life worth living” (DOC 1) this simple quote has influenced so many things in the western civilization. It sparked a flame to light up the world to get out of the dark ages. he philosophy influenced john locke. Locke wrote how if you are not happy with you government you have the right to revolt. locke teachings can be linked with Socrates teachings. Socrates said in the quote that not examining your life and the things that surround your life is a life not even worth living. TExamining your life and noticing the government is the cause to your dismay you have the ability to act apon your government because if you don’t its like you didn’t even examin your life and not examining you life is just
Socrates was a Greek philosopher who lived from 469-399 B.C.E. Socrates believed that Philosophy was primarily a social activity, which in fact he made use of quite often. He would find himself roaming the streets of Athens questioning the youth or just anyone who would give him the chance to talk to them. Furthermore, Socrates questions drove people absolutely insane, until the point of absolute consternation if you will. He tried proving a point which is quoted “Look, here we are, two ignorant men, yet two, men who desire to know. I am willing to pursue the question seriously if you are” (Palmer, 31).Ultimately, this meant that the person Socrates was questioning actually didn’t know anything at all, just as well as Socrates himself, so which for the both of them would remain in search of the truth.
In 399 B.C., three Athenian citizens brought a public charge against Socrates, which is seen throughout the book, The Apology. Like all other Greeks, specifically the Athenians believed that the gods would damn the entire city if people went against their gods, so to not anger the gods, the city passed a law forbidding impiety; which was what they charged Socrates. His impious acts inclu ded not believing in the gods of the city, introducing new ideas, and corrupting the youth. Throughout the text, we notice Socrates’ modesty, his questioning habit, and his devotion to truth. He explained his purpose as a philosopher, eventually concluding that he has the kind of wisdom that each of them lacks: an awareness of their ignorance. His goal is to help individuals achieve self-awareness – self- knowledge – even if it turns ugly in character. His method of questioning can be personal in the struggle to understand everything. He speaks that the great issues of life and virtue in part are necessarily valuable.
Socrates says that God determines what is right and wrong. “I owe a greater obedience to God then to you and so long as I draw breath and have my faculties, I shall never stop practicing philosophy and exhorting you and indicating truth to everyone I meet” (Apology, 29d). God’s rules and commandments are what you need to follow in order to assure a good life after death. God and his commandments come first over everything else. Socrates believes in the divine command theory and how you must listen to Gods commandments. God decides what is moral and obedience to God is how you live justly. Socrates also says he will never stop practicing philosophy because in his eyes philosophy is the way to live life. He has said that living without examining life is a life not worth living. Questioning and indicating truth to others by pointing out their ignorance is what he saw as an essential part of being moral. Morality ties in to the question of solution by asking questions and seeking wisdom you are doing what is just and fixing the condition of humanity. Morality also relates to condition because the soul must be more important than material objects in order to be moral. He says you must follow cities laws and obedience to Gods laws as well in order to be just. On top of that you should be self-examining yourself so that you can better the soul as much as
Throughout this mission, Socrates talked with politicians, artisans, poets and other “experts," and soon realized they all lacked true wisdom. When Socrates tried to explain this lack of real wisdom on the part of the “experts," he noted the consequence was their hatred of him for doing so. Socrates discovered then, that ultimately, they knew nothing more than he did. The difference resides in the fact that Socrates did not pretend to know what he didn’t. While reflecting on his findings, he defined wisdom as human humility, which meant that true wisdom stems from the acknowledgment of one’s own ignorance. After Socrates arrived at this definition of wisdom, he resolved to share his newfound knowledge on what wisdom truly consists of. He likened himself to a gadfly, as he intended to “sting” the citizens of Athens. He would expose their ignorance though a method of questioning that resulted in the exposure of faulty logic. Taking this idea a step farther, the philosopher would claim that “the unexamined life is not worth living”. Through this statement, Socrates acknowledges the distinct difference between living and merely existing. He states that an individual should carefully analyze themselves if they wish to live a life that is worth living. If they do not, they are just existing with no greater purpose. A lack of knowledge, wisdom, or the
Socrates felt that if he was unable to examine life, he would not be really living. To Socrates, living meant being able to question the world around him. Examining life gives one freedom. Once one examines himself and understands who he is, he can take control of his life. Socrates believed that the ability to ask, to examine, and to understand would make a life whole. He believed that the purpose of life was to grow, both physically and spiritually. Being able to explore and understand would lead to a deeper understanding of the world around us as well as a deeper understanding of ourselves. (Plato 46)
I think it’s important to first examine the circumstances of what was going on when Socrates stated “the unexamined life is not worth living.” To really get a sense of how critical the situation