Unexamined Life Reflection Paper

“The unexamined life is not worth living”-Socrates. This quote is the most accurate explanation I can find to describe the age-old question, “What is Philosophy?” It was when I first heard this quote that philosophy became a subject of interest for me to explore. It intrigued me, and I began to ponder this question internally. When I first read Socrates’ statement it seemed very simplistic but when I actually looked deeper into the meaning of it I began to understand it was actually much more complex. To go through your whole life without looking back, and just taking a moment to reflect on where you were and where you are now, seems pointless to do; since doing this enables your personal growth to solidify within yourself. The same goes for examining the world around you without questioning the way in which it works and why does it work that way. In order for us to truly understand philosophy we must also understand how the world around us works and why, since misunderstanding the world makes us in turn misunderstand life. A more common definition of Philosophy is the pursuit of knowledge or love of knowledge, which I also agree with. As a firm believer in the idea that we should never stop learning, and always continue to accumulate facts and data from our everyday lives even if it seems pointless in the moment, I believe it to be impossible to shape ourselves into knowledgeable people without constant reflection. The love of knowledge is an age-old romance between man and the unknown; a dance that takes place all around the world without ever showing any signs of stopping. Socrates wants us not be a passive existence but to be active and look at the world around us in awe because this world has so much to teach us about life, n...

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... of argument. From the proof outlined in this essay, the view that argues we are free and undetermined is fiercer and more correct than the hard determinist or compatibilist argument.

My final words about philosophy are the following; do what you want do and believe what you want to believe. Nobody on this planet has the right to tell you what is right and what is wrong, everyone has their own reasons for doing the things they do and to judge them on their actions from your perspective is wrong. Everything I have previously said is my perspective of philosophy, and compared to the millenniums it has taken philosophy to develop into what it is today, I am comparable to a child trying to drive a car: I don’t have the reach nor the cognitive skills to fully comprehend what it truly means to be free or to make choices freely.

This essay is right. This essay is wrong.