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. I think it’s important to first examine the circumstances of what was going on when Socrates stated “the unexamined life is not worth living.” To really get a sense of how critical the situation …show more content…
I feel that if you have a life that is acknowledged by other people, you have taken the full opportunity of living and made an impact on the society in which you are a part of. That impact could be viewed as positive or negative, but still continues to leave behind some form of an impression. There are many ways to look at how one could make an impact on society. To me, this could be possible by viewing how your society operates, and seeing what the purpose of that livelihood is. I feel that a lot of people go through life following the normal routines of the sociocultural norms, and spend their time doing something they have no personal interest in. This relates back to Socrates accepting death rather than imprisonment or exile, as there is no self-purpose to either of those penalties. It can be seen in many societies today, including America. There are many people who relinquish their dreams to live a more practical life. In my opinion, Socrates would be disappointed in some of today’s generation for not taking the time to dedicate themselves towards their aspirations. Humans today have seemed to lose a lot of the pioneer aspect of their personalities. My general view is that people early in age are raised on the concept that any of their dreams are attainable and that they should strive for them. As people start to develop into young adults they are encouraged to
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 was wise men, who question everything, he was found to be the wise man in Athens by the oracle. Although he was consider of being the wises man alive in those days, Socrates never consider himself wise, therefore he question everything in order to learned more. Socrates lived a poor life, he used to go to the markets and preach in Athens he never harm anyone, or disobey any of the laws in Athens, yet he was found guilty of all charges and sentence to die.
This quote can be used to argue what kind things he would say to our society by providing an example of what his beliefs are. He is saying that once we can only become philosophers we will be able to stop indulging ourselves with our senses and only use them when necessary. Socrates point view of philosophy is when one wants to acquire prudence and irrefutable truth, which was discussed in a classroom community among classmates, simply when wants continuously want to learn and can never be satisfied with what they know. By learning, what Socrates means is our soul 's recollecting knowledge that body hinders the soul from remembering. This is seen in Meno where Socrates shows Meno how a boy figuring out the answers to a question is actually recollecting the knowledge instead of learning something new. He would make a statement about our education system and what we currently see as knowledge what was we should see as knowledge. The way we should learn by his definition would be to have classroom discussions sessions as agreed upon by critical think by my classmates and myself in a philosophy course. Socrates would tell us how we would need to focus on recollecting and focus on feeding our soul instead of our bodies, how we would need to make major changes such as our use of technology for only necessary uses and not merely for mindless entertainment much like how we all use laptops, phones, and the
	Living is about making choices. The choices people make shape their lives for better or worse. Even the decision not to choose has its effects, often not wanted. But the individual who chooses to make positive choices and to act accordingly is more likely to see his or her life reflect his or her beliefs and desires. Usually the individual who chooses to take action is also willing to face the risks and obstacles that such choices involve.
Socrates lived such a private life that it lead to the most important revelation of his entire life. He would go about his life doing nothing but self-examination. In examining his life so strenuously others would come to him to be taught, or to have their children be taught by Socrates. They would offer him money and he would refuse. They would do whatever they could to learn anything Socrates had to teach. What they did not know is that Socrates was not teaching anyone he was simply going about his usual life and people just happened to learn from it. This was also why Socrates was put on trial. He was brought up on two charges, one of impiety and the other of corrupting the youth. These two charges set the course for the last month of his life.
“The unexamined life is not worth living” and “Life is about the journey, not the destination.” I relate to both of this quotes because we all have purpose in our life. We plan out life to be certain way. I plan week in advance so I know what is going to happen this week, what is in plate that I have to take care of it before the time. You need to be control on your life not others. Some people just float though life. They think of their present but they don’t think for their future. They just do the stuff right now and later they will worry about other stuff. They are never ready for future outcome. Only you know how you want to live your life, it’s up to you how you want live it. As I say I plan week ahead for my classes, my work and my family. But it doesn’t always go as it planned. In life you always have to be ready to face some problem. If you live through the problems that is call living life. My dad always tells me that, if you accept the challenge, or face some bad time with smile on face, you will always come out of there and then even the big problems comes you will be ready for it. Don’t ever get nervous for the small problems. Life is made of good time and bad
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.
Socrates discusses that people should not fear death because we do not know the qualities of death. Even though we do not know what death is, he makes some suggestions for the possibilities after death. He suggests that maybe death is just an endless sleep without dreaming, it is where we can finally come to peace with ourselves. He also suggest that maybe in the afterlife he will be able to meet heroic people in the past, where he can share his experience and question people to see whether they are wise. Even in death Socrates is still going to practice philosophy even if the place is bad. Even if he did not live a just life that he thought he did, he can examine what he did wrong and fix the problems in the after life. I agree with Socrates
“The ultimate value of life depends upon awareness and the power of contemplation rather than upon mere survival” (Aristotle, n.d.)
As one ponders on how to live a good life, many ideas come to mind. Whether this may be wealth, family, or beauty, the early philosopher’s theories need to be taken into consideration. Those early philosophers include Plato, Aristotle, the Stoics, and The Epicureans. These four committed their lives towards bettering life, and are the basis of most philosophical theories. It is evident that these four need to be read, understood, and discussed to better understand one’s life. They always pondered on the thought of how to have a perfect life and society. When one makes their own theory, based upon these early philosophers, not only do they need to establish a strong belief system, it is required to practice this too. Plato had the most basic of theories, being that only virtue was needed in life to be happy and nothing else. For Aristotle, he used Plato’s foundation and added that external goods, such as wealth, respect, friends, and beauty were all necessary. Without one of these, Aristotle believes that one cannot live a happy life. For the Stoics, they settled on a balanced approached between virtue and external goods, saying that virtue is necessary, yet external goods are preferred too. The Epicureans largely argue the Stoics view, and present that pleasure (tranquility) is the goal of every life, but virtues and friends are required for this. Each theory has many critics, even with Aristotle being a critic of his own theory. None seems perfect, yet all fit today’s modern society. I found that I agree with the Stoics theory the most, and find that any external good is fine as long as virtue is the basis of that person’s life.
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.
Once someone has a firm decision, and takes action, no one can tell them that they cannot. They also must know their limitations and understand that they do not know everything. It is okay for one to say that they do not know the answer to a specific question, but they must know that they will find the answer eventually. People should also expand their horizons by educating themselves and furthering their knowledge. He believed education increased the nothingness around us and helped solidify the things in our life that were real. He also taught people that whatever they have in their life was enough and to make the mistake of looking for happiness from some far off goal. . One of his most famous quotes is, “The unexamined life is not worth living.” This quote says a lot about his character because Socrates believed the purpose of life was personal and spiritual
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 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.