According to Socrates the soul is what differentiates humans from all other living things. This entails the ability to think about who we truly are, to reflect on our life 's experiences, and to attain wisdom, virtue, and happiness in order to live a good life. Hence, one of the most famous philosophical and bold claims made by Socrates, according to Plato, during his trial for heresy summed up his belief that, “The unexamined life is not worth living.” It can be perceived from this that if we go about our lives without reflecting on the decisions we 've made or how things came to be the way the are, we are no better off than we were before and this kind of “blind” life is unworthy of the time on earth it so lived. As explained by John Chaffee, …show more content…
youth whose brains are not fully formed and those affect by mental disabilities). Even though it may not be known to others by vocalization, writing, or other means of communication I would assume that the vast majority of people have, at some point in their lives, reflected upon who they are as a person and about their past decisions. It does not seem possible that a human who is able has not ever examined their life to some extent. Although there are obviously varying levels of frequency and depth to which one chooses to self-reflect, I do not perceive this to have an impact on the worthiness of a life to live. Some reflect often and others not so often, but none the less, still reflect. There is such a thing as over-examining or over-analyzing. Balance is …show more content…
Unfortunately, some people, just prior to death, have regrets and doubts about the meaning and purpose of their life. At this point, it is much too late to right-the-ship and they may feel as though their life was not as well-lived as it possibly should have been. A differentiating factor between one life and another can be said to be how those lives prepare for death. What does it mean to 'prepare for death '? One might say that if a dying person has a sense of leaving behind a purposeful and meaningful life, then that life was well-lived and was therefore prepared for death. One can say that the value of life can be diminished by not thoroughly examining throughout one 's life and therefore, being unprepared for the ultimate human
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).
When we’re born the last thing on anyone’s mind is death. All anyone can really ask for is a happy, healthy baby and for the infant to live a long prosperous life. Unfortunately, as you take your first breath the countdown to death starts. Today we don’t really start thinking about death until we’ve somehow experienced it for ourselves or we start getting older. Some of us questions what happens to us when we die, where do we go, does it hurt, will I ever see my loved ones again, will I be with God? Although we don’t have answers to these questions, we can look at past cultures to help open our minds to the possibilities. Today when we die we don’t really plan it out or start preparing from months or years. Due to the fact that we don’t know
... and an option in life’s trials. In "Phaedo," Socrates deals with the question of what is after death rather than death itself. The soul, he says, continues after the body dies, so in what situation it continues becomes an important question in life. If our souls are to continue after we die, we must be quite concerned with them during life. Life may be, in fact, what distinguishes the situation our souls are put into after death and we may be able to alter the outlook for our souls if we act more wisely. As this possibility exists, it seems only reasonable to do for our souls as much as possible during life. If, in fact, there is no after life for our souls then we have lost nothing in being prepared. Philosophies relationship to death is, as such, in revealing the questions and possibilities of death so as to allow for decisions to be made accordingly during life.
The questions of what exactly knowledge, virtue and the soul are, are among the most important problems of philosophy The soul may be defined as the ultimate internal principle by which we think, feel, and exist. If there is life after death, the soul must be capable of an existence separate from the body. The mysteries of birth and death, the lapse of conscious life during sleep, even the most common operations of imagination and memory, which abstract a man from his bodily presence even while awake; all such facts suggest the existence of something other. The quest to put a solid definition on what exactly knowledge and virtue was the basis of Socrates' life. Socrates discusses these things all the time but they seemed to be better explained in two specific dialogues The Meno and The Republic.
A vivid description of the state of mind behind the question is also to be found in Tolstoy's `My Confession', where the great Russian enquires, `Is there any meaning in life that the inevitable death awaiting me does not destroy?'
The definitions of death and life have always been controversial topics since the beginning of civilization. When determining the beginning of life and the end of life, there are just too many factors to consider and there are also uncertainties that have yet to be settled. For example, do the factors have to be strictly observable and physical or can they also include the organism’s state of mind and whether it shows any psychological defects as well? And also let us not forget that for humans religion also plays a crucial role in both the definitions of life and death and the maintenance of life. Unfortunately, the people all over the world have not come to ultimate definitions of life and death but we can only keep trying to get closer until we finally discover just when we are forever separated from this world and what keeps us going in this world.
When we are born, people hope that we live a long and happy life, but everything including humans are essentially made or born to die. We are taught when we are young that our goal, path, purpose or whatever you wish to call it is to: get an education, get a job, get a spouse, and have children to continue the cycle. As said in the film Bee Movie, we go to school, then work until we die. That can be applied to us in the real world, some people have to work until they die to be able to financially support themselves and/or their family and they fear death until they know that their family will be well off when they are gone.
A classical point of departure in defining Death, seems to be Life itself. Death is perceived either as a cessation of Life - or as a "transit zone", on the way to a continuation of Life by other means.
There is one thing in this universe that no one can escape, that everyone fears, and makes people who are close to that person miserable, and that is death. Death is the worst thing that can ever happen to a person, and is just as terrible for the people who are close to them. There is an emptiness that comes with the passing of a loved one or someone close. That blankness in the world does something to the people who encompass that person who passed. It changes people, whether it is for better or worse. Death is a part of life and depending on how people are affected can dictate whether it will leave a positive or negative transformation to their life and that conversion happened to me with the passing of my beloved mother, Fran.
According to Plato’s philosophy in order for human beings to have a healthy “soul,” our view of the world should not be distorted by fears, insecurities, irrational anxieties, or overpowering desires. He also explains that our judgment should not be blinded by greed or self-interest. Having a healthy “soul” means having a clear mind and seeing things for what they actually are; this “soul” is the core of our personality. A person with a healthy ”soul” will live a virtuous life by making ethical choices and controlling his or her desires.
In the reading, it explains that Socrates is wealthy, educated, has a high status and honored, but Socrates believes all of it is worthless, harmful and damaging to the soul. The soul is all that matters because it is eternal. When he was on death row, he didn’t really fight to save his life. He knows his potential and is refusing to take control and live up to it. He truly doesn't care whether he dies and is willing to throw hi...
Death is the one great certainty in life. Some of us will die in ways out of our control, and most of us will be unaware of the moment of death itself. Still, death and dying well can be approached in a healthy way. Understanding that people differ in how they think about death and dying, and respecting those differences, can promote a peaceful death and a healthy manner of dying.
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.
The term “philosophy” means the love of wisdom, and those that study philosophy attempt to gain knowledge through rationality and reason. 1 Socrates, the father of ancient philosophy, once stated “the unexamined life is not worth living”. This is the most important part of life and it is need to find purpose and value in life. If a person chooses to live their life without examination, their life would lack value and they would be unhappy. They would also be ignorant to the effects of their choices on themselves and the people around them.
Socrates was a wise man who realized that life was not something that could be easily understood. He knew that questioning life would lead to a stronger conception of life and reality. When he stated that “the unexamined life is not worth living” (Plato 45), he truly meant that without questioning life, one would not be truly living. Actions would have no understanding of being right or wrong. For Socrates, a man who believed that life should be based on what was right, there would be no greater wrongdoing.