Socrates and Plato

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Socrates and Plato: Significant Philosophers of Ancient Greece

“The Unexamined Life is not Worth Living.” This is the famous quote proclaimed by Socrates, a controversial philosopher of ancient Athens. He believed that anyone could lead a significant and meaningful existence by examining his or her own life and ideas very thoroughly. (Soccio)
Socrates was wise in respect to the fact that he never accepted a “truth” that was told to him, without getting incontestable evidence to back it up. He made the realization that people believed in things without even knowing where their ideas came from. In ancient Athens, citizens believed in many gods and myths associated with them. There was no evidence whatsoever to back up their religious claims. (Fiero)
Philosophy to Socrates was the soul’s pursuit of salvation, signifying that Socrates was somewhat of a religious individual. (Palacios) He believed that he was guided by God, and occasionally was inspired by his divine presence. In fact, according to Plato’s Defense of Socrates, Socrates said that a god swayed him into not involving himself in politics. He did not want to hurt anyone by following unjust politics. (Beck)
On the other hand, Socrates was quite skeptical of the belief in many gods. Once, when he approached a famous priest he asked, “What is piety?"
“It is honoring the gods and doing their will,” the priest replied.
Confu...

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