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 focuses his philosophy on life entirely on the discovery of knowledge and wisdom, ethics, and the soul. He was obsessed with seeking of knowledge and wisdom: he believed that they are the key to a good life. He went on to state that, “an unexamined life, is a life not worth living.” According to him, knowledge and wisdom correlate to ethical actions, ultimately resulting in a life of happiness, by …show more content…
The difference between the two, which makes me lean more towards the Buddhist model, is the difference between what we do and do not take for granted. Socrates focuses on purifying the soul without much acknowledgement for what makes us happy eternally and temporarily. I feel this is where Buddhism has its largest strength. Its model has a very heavy emphasis on trying to minimize desires, as they only provide a dose of happiness. If I were to follow this model, I would have to learn to appreciate the good things in life, because they do not come about very often and the happiness does not always last. To me, the combination of improving your well-being and appreciating what makes you happy seems to be the best way to go about
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.
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
...s of morale led him to understand that there is no definite. In situations and in life there is only relative, and nothing is constant. As humans we try to find the closest thing to constant, so we can measure our lives and daily struggles and compare them to something or someone that is not subject to the fallibility of man. I believe that Socrates was encouraging the search for knowledge by questioning the original understanding of certain definitions, like piety.
First of all, Socrates’ views on the good life were to live a simple life, and that happiness does not come from material goods, but from three things: (1) what we define as happiness, (2) our relationship between pleasure and happiness, and (3) the overall connections between morality, pleasure, and happiness.
Socrates and Plato had a very distinct view on the human life and what constitutes a living of a “good life”-a life that would allow man access to the forms. Socrates was Plato’s teacher, and throughout much of Plato’s works, Socrates is the main character, who is ultimately the mouthpiece to express Plato’s ideas about life. These ideas were centralized around the idea of an immortal soul and one’s location of critical thinking and reasoning. Socrates and Plato believed that the soul was the home to reasoning and the body was a mere obstacle that hindered the pursuit of true knowledge. However, this theory may not be valid due to the knowledge that we possess today about the brain, senses, and biology of the human body.
The key ideas of Buddhism are the struggle to escape suffering and attain nirvana, the end of samsara, and to become enlightened. Buddhism’s method for freedom from suffering is laid out in the Four Noble Truths. Gautama taught the following: Life is suffering and pain, pain is caused by desire and craving, the end of pain comes with the end of desire, and the eightfold path leads to the end of pain. Siddhartha Gautama believed that the way to happiness, nirvana, and end piece was the absence of pain and therefore desires. The pathway to attain the absence of pain is right understanding, thought, speech, action, livelihood, effort, mindfulness, and concentration. On the other hand, Confucius taught that focusing on social order and the presence of a structured society was the key to happiness. Confucius focused on five relationships: ruler to subject, father to son, husband to wife, older brother to younger brother, and friend to friend. In addition to the emphasis on social order and the Five Confucian Relationships, Confucius also believed the reestablishment of traditional practices and virtues, such as ancestor worship, were essential to social success. In summary, Buddhism focuses on the end of suffering and the achievement of nirvana by the denial of desire while Confucianism hones in on the importance of social order and proper relationships between one
Only by understanding what wisdom, excellence, and who embraces the attributes necessary to teach these ideas can someone understand how each of Socrates statements were meant to build upon each other. It is these ideas of growing in goodness of the soul and by each person understanding themselves can they hope to truly grow as individuals. If all people strive to grow and to focus on looking inward as opposed to the material world around them then society and the world can truly grow and become a place of truth and justice.
Socrates, which is synonymous with wisdom and the philosophical life, was a teacher without a school. His goal was to help others find the truths that lie within their own minds. He helped his students reach deeper, clearer ideas by questioning, disproving, and testing the thoughts of his pupils. His teachings offended many of the powerful people of his time. They believed he was corrupting the youth in Athens. Since he believed and taught in this way, he was executed.
Socrates and Siddhartha Guatama Buddha have many similarities; they both believe in the importance of justice and good, and a simpler way of life. However, they have different goals: Socrates concerns with worldly meanings and codes, he deals with truth and morals. Buddha concerns with attaining the outer-worldly through mastering the worldly. Socrates relinquishes sensual desires in hopes of spiritual rebirth after death and achieving enlightenment in life. Buddha relinquishes the same ideas, but in hopes of living an enlightened life on earth. (The Dhammapada: Socrates & Buddha Vs. Desire) My contention is to compare Philosopher Socrates from Plato and Siddhartha Guatama Buddha, and I will demonstrate their similarities and differences based on their practices and beliefs.
According to Socrates, the proper function of a human being is to work with virtue instead of vice. He explains further that virtue compromises the excellence of one’s functioning. Socrates gives some examples of the virtues that he considers encompassing what it means to be functioning properly. He states that moderation, courage, wisdom, and justice all allow those who practice them to function well. He employs this argument in describing why the just life is favorable over the unjust one. When someone preforms the functions of the human soul well and properly, he or she will then live a happier life than an unjust person not preforming adequately.
Socrates cherished and felt a profound sympathy with the erring humanity, thus was deeply conscious of the human limitations and the infirmities that humanity experiences. He loved both men and women, especially those who had not learned and encouraged them to overcome the human weaknesses and frailties. However, sometimes the wrongs in society roused righteous indignation that resulted in an angry and fierce rebuke of social ills. As a true patriot, he dedicated his life to teaching ethical and political views. This is because he was deeply sensible of the debt he owed the city. The generous benevolence and the unaffected philanthropy depicted at different levels of his ...
Socrates was born around the year 469 B.C.E, and during his lifetime became one of the most well-known philosophers in the world. According to the Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy, much of the information that is known about Socrates is secondhand; this is because he never wrote anything, unlike many of the other philosophers. The information known is most likely from the writings of his most famous student, Plato. The teachers of Socrates are unknown, although many believe he got his ideas from the teachings and doctrines of Anaxagoras and even Heraclitus.
“The Good Life” in Socrates mind isn 't’ just simply defined in this primary source, however, it is implied. It is clear Socrates believes that “The Good Life” isn’t about where one ended up, or how much material gain they inhabited through the course of their lives, it is about if they clung on to mortality and lived their lives doing what they believed was good. Socrates says, “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 - acting the part
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)
Living a good life must not consist of negativity. Therefore, we should be able to avoid involuntary actions that is caused by bad deeds because we are not making them with good intentions. Living a good life is happiness because we are able to grow mentally by being aware of our surroundings and actions. Aristotle and Aikido are a great way of living a good life because both of them helps us become a better human being by obtain character .Also, that we should not engage in causing harm and avoid malice acts. Aikido has helped me understand that we shouldn’t cause harm to anyone. Also, that we should be virticiopus because we will be able to identify what is good and bad actions. Therefore, this makes a better human being because we are aware that harm and malice acts are not a good way of life because it is only produces bad actions and avoids obtaining a strong character and self .Also, that living a good life is not about one self. We should be aware of our surroundings and how we can contribute in order to make the environment a better place for