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Socrates life essay
Socrates life essay
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1 Socrates thesis states that the only life worth living is the examined life. The examined life is caring for the soul by questioning and examining beliefs to obtain the most understanding. He argues that if he did not live an examined life he would be disobeying his God which is the wrong thing to do. Socrates also points out that he examines people who think they know something when they really don’t, thus showing wisdom is worth nothing. In conclusion Socrates makes it evident that the examined life is being able to live life in the most morally correct way. Socrates main care for living the examined life is to avoid doing anything that is sinful or unjust. In Socrates defense, the examined life is the only way to live a virtuous life.
2 Self experience allows us to know right from wrong. If we don’t question ideals or laws, we do not know if these ideas are true or why they even
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They believe that they can live life purely without having to seek out the reason for actions. The unexamined life gives them the ability to live life carefree without disturbance. Those people will simply do what is told of them such as following laws and ideas. By following such regulations they believe they are doing the morally correct thing because they follow what is told of them. Therefore the unexamined life is a better life to live than the examined life.
6 I believe, in contrast that the examined life is the only true fulfilling and moral life to live. By living the unexamined life you fail to progress through life morally. It is not possible to live care free and still live ethically or moral. By being carefree, you cannot live a fulfilling life if you never learn from anything. A carefree live is superficial and amounts to nothing in the end because there is nothing to learn from it. The examined life helps show self awareness and it allows one to live morally correct and learn from
Socrates once said, “The unexamined life is not worth living.” He questioned the very nature of why things were the way they were, while never settling for simple, mundane answers. Socrates would rather die searching for the truth than live accepting what he considered a blatant lie. I like to think of myself the same way. I too would rather examine the wonders of life rather than accept what I am just told. The truth is some can’t handle the truth. I on the other hand welcome it with earnest anticipation and fervent enthusiasm.
... them to acknowledge the unjust state of affairs that persists in the deteriorating city-state. Socrates believed it was better to die, than to live untrue to oneself, and live unable to practice philosophy, by asking people his questions. Thus, we can see Socrates was a nonconformist in Ancient Greek society, as he laid down his life in the hopes of saving his state, by opening the eyes of the jury to the corruptness and evils of society. Socrates also laid down the framework for a paradigm shift to occur in his city, as his acquired a formidable fan group, or following, of individuals, who, began to preach his philosophy and continue his Socratic method of questioning and teaching. Socrates philosophy is still influential and studied today, thus his ways of thinking about life, truth and knowledge, changed the way western society perceives the world.
Socrates put one’s quest for wisdom and the instruction of others above everything else in life. A simple man both in the way he talked and the wealth he owned, he believed that simplicity in whatever one did was the best way of acquiring knowledge and passing it unto others. He is famous for saying that “the unexplained life is not worth living.” He endeavored therefore to break down the arguments of those who talked with a flowery language and boasted of being experts in given subjects (Rhees 30). His aim was to show that the person making a claim on wisdom and knowledge was in fact a confused one whose clarity about a given subject was far from what they claimed. Socrates, in all his simplicity never advanced any theories of his own but rather aimed at bringing out the worst in his interlocutors.
According to Pierre Hadot, “Thus philosophy was a way of life, both in its exercise and effort to achieve wisdom, and its goal, wisdom itself. For real wisdom does not merely cause us to know: it makes us “be” in a different way” ( Pierre 265) This explanation of a philosophical way of life is in all ways the definition of Socrates’ life. Socrates made his way through his entire life living in this way, seeking out wisdom, seeking out answers and never once got in trouble with the court until the age of seventy years old. He believed that by telling people about ignorance and wisdom, that he was only doing so for the good of the people. Socrates even goes as far as saying, “I am that Gadfly which God has attached to the state, and all day long and in all places am always fastening upon you, arousing and persuading and reproaching you”(Plato 9). Socrates believes that he was sent from God to show people a different way of life, a life of questioning and reason to which he should teach to all people. When asked if he was ashamed of a course of life of which would likely bring him to an untimely end Socrates says, “you are mistaken: a man who is good for anything ought not to calculate the chance of living or dying; he ought only to consider whether in doing anything he is doing right or wrong” (Plato 7).
Socrates attempts to make other people reason well and therefore be virtuous by performing their human function; I believe that this action inwardly reflects Socrates’s own virtue. For example, if a professor can effectively teach mathematics to his students, then he most likely holds knowledge of the subject within himself. In a similar way, Socrates instills virtue in other people, which shows that he himself is a virtuous being. Although some people criticize him, evidence of his positive impact is reinforced by the approval and support of his friends in the Apology. While promoting virtue when alive, Socrates wishes to continue to encourage virtue even after death. For example, at the onset of his death, Socrates asks the jurors to ensure that his sons are given grief if they care for anything else more than virtue (Plato and Grube 44). While Socrates could have been thinking about himself or other things at that moment, he is thinking of how to guide people towards living virtuously. Both his actions while living and his intentions after death reveal that Socrates wished to aid people in living virtuous lives, which highlight his own state of
Socrates was one of the wisest people to walk the earth, and he didn’t even know it. His questioning, reasoning, and expertise in the Apology convey the amount of wisdom he endowed. Through his statements, Socrates sounds like he contradicted himself, but rather, both statements made about obeying law and breaking the law are correct. Socrates said that he would obey the commands of the city, only if the commands were just. He should not be on trial, because he did nothing to invoke injustice upon himself. He committed no crime; therefore, he will continue practicing philosophy no matter what the consequence.
Socrates describe his role in Athens being gadfly since according to him he is given to the Athens state by God. His work is to persuade, arouse, and reproach the Athenians. Since there is no other like him, he should be spared. In the light of Socrates, who claims “the unexamined life is not worth living” usually is because the greatest good of the man is their daily converse about virtue. That is why the Socrates keeps examining himself and others.
One of the most difficult tasks for humans is figuring out how to live the best life possible. A good life is arguably one of our biggest desires, but being able to reach that type of life is extremely difficult because we do not know how to get there. The famous philosopher, Socrates, and Buddhist teachings help us get to our goal by addressing the way a human life should be lived; although each have very different mindsets. Socrates is focused heavily on ethics and discovery of truth within all aspects of knowledge. In Buddhism, the main purpose of life is to end human suffering. To choose one lifestyle over the other would be very difficult, as they have various strengths and weaknesses which just about balance one out from the other.
Socrates is correct when he says the “the unexamined life is not worth living” In order to discuss why Socrates is correct, I would like to discuss these various points which consist of: the significance as well as the underlying meaning of his quote “the unexamined life is not worth living”, the difference between an unexamined life and an examined life, specific examples, the importance of a person living an examined life and lastly, whether or not I’m living an examined life.
In Plato’s dialogue, the Phaedo, Socrates gives an account of the immortality of the soul. Socrates does this through a series of arguments. He argues that the soul will continue to exist, and that it will go on to a better place. The argument begins on the day of his execution with the question of whether it is good or bad to die. In other words, he is arguing that the soul is immortal and indestructible. This argument is contrary to Cebes and Simmias who argue that even the soul is long lasting, it is not immortal and it is destroyed when the body dies. This paper focuses on Socrates 's first argument for immortality of the human soul, his counter arguments to Cebes and Simmias ' arguments, and an explanation as to why Socrates first argument for the immorality of the soul does not succeed in establishing that the soul is immortal.
Great speeches effects, he said, cannot discover the truth; we can discover it only through dialogue together, and agreement from agreement. Socrates created the moral science. For him, virtue is a new idea such as the virtues towards oneself, for others and the state, in each case should be settled on the universal. In sum, well think is necessary but not sufficient; you also have to take action. Socrates told a story about the prisoners in the cave as a metaphor to show the reality is not necessarily what we see; the reality may be beyond what we can see.
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.
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
Socrates was considered by many to be the wisest man in ancient Greece. While he was eventually condemned for his wisdom, his spoken words are still listened to and followed today. When, during his trial, Socrates stated that, “the unexamined life is not worth living” (Plato 45), people began to question his theory. They began to wonder what Socrates meant with his statement, why he would feel that a life would not be worth living. To them, life was above all else, and choosing to give up life would be out of the picture. They did not understand how one would choose not to live life just because he would be unable to examine it.
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.