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Why unexamined life is worth living
Why unexamined life is worth living
Discuss the decision making process essay
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In our world today, there are two types of people that exist; people who examine their lives and people who do not examine their lives. It is a decision that every parent, teenager and child makes during some point in their lives. One might state that their are benefits to living an unexamined life. One is able to do whatever they please since they are never questioning their own actions. They are not forced to uphold any morales since they believe that the only thing that matters to them is to “enjoy life” now and to forget about the future. On the other hand, it is healthier to make decisions that will satisfy our future goals. In order to do this, it is expected to take certain steps that will propel us to success, the examination of our …show more content…
The decisions we make in our everyday lives affect our future. If we do not thoroughly think about our actions then we are jeopardizing our life 's outcome. For this reason, we have to methodically plan our actions and movements in order to stay on the right track. A pilot knows his destination before he sets off on his journey. The first steps he takes in order to prepare the plane for this voyage would be to examine his plane to make sure everything is in order. He would check to make sure that there is enough fuel until the next stop, he would examine the wings as well as the rest of the plane to make sure that they are correctly functioning, along with many other things. Without this examination, the plane is bound to fail since the proper steps were not taken before and during the journey. Similar to a trip in an airplane, our journey will have its ups and downs, but we will still be able to make it to its destination safely through examination both before and during our trip. One question that may pop up is the importance of having a purpose in life. Why does someone have to think about the outcome of his actions and how that will affect his
Tests and decisions are as numerous in any man's life as are the beats of his heart. The consequences follow him forever - he is judged by them and they affect his entire existence. However, judgement should not be passed on a man's single decisions individually, but only by observing how he has chosen to live his life.
What if someone examined their own day-to-day life? Most of us would admit to leading a lifestyle that is systemized and orderly, doing the same thing you do every day. People get so accustomed to this style of life and satisfaction, that they never find the true meaning behind life. In Jon Krakauer’s, Into the Wild, Chris McCandless explains that, “So many people live within unhappy circumstances and yet will not take the initiative to change their situation because they are conditioned to a life of security, conformity, and conservatism, all of which may appear to give one peace of mind, but in reality nothing is more damaging to the adventurous spirit within a man than a secure future.”
As people evolve from children to young adults and finally to maturity, they find that they are constantly faced with difficult decisions. Learning to make the right choice in a difficult situation is one of the hardest lessons to learn. Many people make choices without considering what the results may be. They only look to the future for knowledge instead of considering the knowledge already discovered in the past. In Linda Pastan's "Ethics," the author has painted a picture of the difficulty people have when they refuse to realize that the most difficult choices to make are also the most important. Through Pastan's use of character, symbolism, and descriptive language, the theme of this poem is presented for thought. While choices are made every day without much thought, Pastan has made clear that choices made without the benefit of wisdom are almost always regretted.
Writing has never been a strength I have possessed. English 102 has been difficult and challenging for me because I have had to move past the high school level of a basic book report or a five paragraph paper that has narrowed my ideas of writing for many years. Putting on paper what my thoughts are in a way that is logical and accurate for what the assignment is asking has been hard for me this semester. My ideas are now more involved because I have learned through English 102 how to develop my writing skills in different formats, for example, in an annotated bibliography and a research paper. English 102 has taught me many things about writing like locating sources from the library and on line as well as continuing
“Efforts and courage are not enough without purpose and direction.” said John F. Kennedy. Most people today have less concern about the purpose of lives. This lead to the the three questions which set by Dr. Clayton M. Christensen in July 2010 on the article named “How Will You Measure Your Life?”. The first question is will you happy in your career?, Is family the source of happiness? and Will you stay out of jail?. All these questions help us to think more about our “lives”. In the article, Christensen divided the topic into six parts and all parts are essential. In my point of view, I found that the most interesting topic is “Create a Strategy for Your Life.” because the clear purpose helps us to identify the meaning of life, create success and stop wasting time.
accept the choices we make in life whether good or bad. The next possible interpretation
own need to control specific life events and the difficulty in the reality of act...
Some people spend their lives complaining that there 's “no meaning to life”. They live their life not caring about others around them, themselves, etc. However, once they accomplish something, such as saving someone’s life or becoming a mom, they may finally feel that their life has a meaning. Those that aim and success are more likely to miss it and not feel accomplished with what they did. These would be the women that are told they can’t have children. Or someone who wants to be a doctor but continues to fail the entrance exam. Viktor Frankl said “...I want you to listen to what your conscience commands you to do and go on to carry it out to the best of your knowledge. Then you will live to see that in the long run, success will follow you precisely because you had forgotten to think about
What I found is that if one were to sit down, and think of their future realistically, they could certainly find an approach on life that will not cause one to regret the...
Erik Erikson composed a theory of psychological development that was composed of eight stages. Erikson’s theory focuses on how personalities evolve throughout life as a result of the interaction between biologically based maturation and the demands of society. According to Erikson, “Each stage of human development presents its characteristic crises. Coping well with each crisis makes an individual better prepared to cope with the next.” (Zastrow & Kirst-Ashman, 2013, p. 314) According to Erikson’s eight stages of development, I have only been through six of the eight stages.
According to Socrates “the unexamined life is not worth living”. The most important part of life is examining your choices and beliefs using rationality and determining if they are valid. If a person chooses not lead an unexamined life, they would find that their life lacks value and they would be unhappy. They would also lead an immoral life, as they would be ignorant to the effects their choices have on themselves and those around them.
Now we will consciously or unconsciously make decisions which we think are for the best for us, for the ones we care for, or for the society or organisation as a whole. In order to make wiser decisions we should know what contributes in making a good or a bad choice. We should know what all options are there available to us and mak...
Much like Benjamin Franklin believed, I feel that a person should take advantage of the time the person has in life with activities a person wants to do or needs to do. A person should not spend much time on activities the person does not want to do. Life is way too short to concern oneself with work or other activities one wants nothing to do with all the time. When possible, I try to forget about my responsibility and just let go of the ‘things’ that do not matter to me. I think a person should try to occupy oneself with something productive, worthwhile, or necessary at all times. Even though a person’s life is left up to a person to live, I cannot imagine thinking that I owe my time to society through working a job that I simply despise. I am a compassionate person, but I do not owe anyone anything regarding my time.
As I have reflected on the examined life, intellectually, physically, emotionally, socially and spiritually, over the span of this semester and applied it to our own life, I have noticed a theme that links each of these dimensions together. Life is a journey of self discovery where individuals are constantly trying to come to terms with who they are as a person. Through this journey, individuals can find their calling or vocation in life, discover their potential, know one’s self, and even just make sense of life. Furthermore, I will examine this theme of self discovery in the context of each dimension and apply it to what I have learned over the course of this semester.
One simple consideration that can change the course of how people think about their approach to life is, the examination of the influences that they have on other people’s lives. An individual could also look outwards and analyze the impact that other people have on that individual’s life. One should also self-reflect and search for how their thoughts and actions craft a pathway towards their own destiny. The statement by Socrates, “the unexamined life is not worth living,” is an interesting statement that requires a considerable amount of analysis.