The quote: "The unexamined life is not worth living." Socrates didn't mean that people have no value, or should be executed if they lived unexamined lives. Humans are unique in the animal kingdom; we have the ability to reason and reflect about everything. What he meant was: To live the unexamined life is to live less than a fully human life; not living life the way we were created to live.…
In document 1, the anti-sophist teacher and philosopher, Socrates, suggests that "The unexamined life is not worth living". This quote can be interpreted by saying that it is good to examine your life, or think over it with great caution, and not make mistakes. He recommends that it is good to discover yourself, know what you…
Athenians live as the society tells them to live, and they follow their own traditions, customs, and morals of the rest of the people. Socrates has never forced Athenians to follow his teachings, on the contrary he lets them do it without getting anything in return. He states “And I cannot justly be held responsible for the good or bad conduct of these people, as I never promised to teach them anything.” (33a-b) He doesn’t directly influence society, he tries to make them aware of their lack of knowledge; it then becomes their responsibility to fill the void exposed by Socrates. Therefore, he believes they have not examined their own lives. Socrates believes an examined life is one that is reflective, where we examine actions on the basis of…
Aristotle’s beliefs on living a good life start with careful deliberation of the ends and the means. Suppose I want a laptop--the laptop is my goal, purpose, or end. I can do various things to get the laptop--such as earn, steal, borrow, or save. These things are known as my means. The means I decide to use depends on which is more convenient and which leads to the most benefits. Contemplating about the end goal that we are pursuing, and the means we use to reach that goal is practical thinking. However, this type of thinking does not come to fruition, until purposeful action occurs; which is acting with some purpose, goal, or end in mind. This purposeful action is compared differently with thoughtless action, which is an action with no purpose…
All of us have a lot of questions, and we don’t have the answers to those questions; that can really discourage us. I was in college and that’s how I felt. Consequently, that led to many dismal thoughts, because I assumed that I didn’t serve a purpose. One event in particular gave me an idea, that I could begin the cycle of purpose for myself. Once, I was nonchalantly strolling to my car from class, when I spotted an anomaly in the distance. My car had been burglarized, which made me a mix of complicated emotions. I sprinted to my car, hopefully nothing had been taken. Although, the doors were wide open, only one thing was stolen; my car radio. “Why me,” I screamed at the…
Socrates lived a life of inquiry in order to achieve a fulfilled life of eudaimonia and success. I argue that the Socratic examined life is a process, which should be valued because it teaches one to be critical thinkers, and aids us in the understanding our true actions.…
Everyone in society has different views on the best kind of life. Some people think that the best kind of life is one that is filled with family. Some may think that it is concerning living life without any regrets and being prosperous, healthy and having someone to share it all with. But this is not the case for Socrates. Having very profound views about what could be called the best kind of life for a human being. This paper is going to explore four areas that Socrates believes makes up the best kind of life for humans. The fist point that this paper is going too examine the values and how it was vital for Socrates. Secondly this paper is going to explore virtue. The Third point of this paper is the pursuit of happiness. And lastly…
"The unexamined life is not worth living" is a cornerstone of the philosophy of Socrates. P81…
Martin Luther King Jr. once said “Our lives begin to end the day we become silent about things that matter”. He understood that although a person is breathing, he is not truly alive unless he is living for a purpose. A good life is one that is lived with the intention of constantly bettering oneself and the world in which they live. Unfortunately, this life can only be attained by making sacrifices. Time and independence are both expenses that must be paid in order to live a meaningful, and therefore good, life.…
Man was born free, and every where he is in chains. To Socrates, the unexamined life is not free. In the society he knew, justice was overall important, and to him it was as well. The problem was that his beliefs conflicted with the conduct of law in his community, so he would have replied to this quote by saying that a person needs explore themselves or else they just build bars around their lives. In order to explore ones life, questions need to be asked and beliefs need to be challenged, but the law of his time prohibited such acts.…
In the article, The Unexamined Life is Not Worth Living, School Papers explains, “ If a person does not examine his life, he may keep making the same mistakes and never change...The Apostle Peter says that while waiting for the return of Christ, one should “make every effort to be found spotless, blameless and at peace with Him… Despite the fact that a man with an unexamined life should still continue to exist, he will not achieve the fulfillment that an examined life will.” Therefore, a person who does not question life and the essence of it isn’t really living accordingly. It is sensible to examine our behaviors and actions, and learn from…
A good life is defined differently for everyone. Our parents, friends, and the media all comprise a vision that we see as the best way of experiencing our lives. This is different for every person, because nobody follows the exact same path in life, and events influencing someone’s existence are what eventually set the course for one‘s perception of a good, fulfilling, purposeful life. In the cases of some, a good life does not have to be complex. A modest life is often more fulfilling as a busy, complicated lifestyle. Although I don’t necessarily agree that my life would be better if it were suddenly made much simpler, there are people in the world who believe that the best thing one could ask for is simplicity.…
For me, life becomes worth living because of “growing”. Life wouldn’t really make sense if I wouldn’t grow. That is, not in the physical sense, but more of the moral, spiritual and social part of it. I learn and I improve every day, and that makes me very happy. I become nicer and grow stronger in faith. I also gain new friends! All of these make my life worth living. But there’s more! “Creating”, gives it worth as well. Writing, drawing, painting and even inventing makes life even more beautiful! Creating gives my life color. Creating my own musical and literary compositions, drawings, paintings, ideas and dreams pave my way to a great life. A great life is lived also because of “helping”. It is not enough to just create; I have to also share my creations with others for the good of the community and the greater glory of God. Sharing my creations might inspire others, and help myself too as I become open to see the happiness of others. “Realizing” is another thing that makes life worth living. Life isn’t about being right all the time. Having a good life doesn’t mean that you’ve got to be perfect. Everyone makes mistakes. And in these mistakes, we realize…
Life is a very unique journey for most. Life will always have it’s ups and downs. However the main question humans tend to ask themselves, “ Why am I here?”. People need to have purpose to really have value to life. Most people will have a sense of being lost, until they find what they think they their purpose here on earth is. Once they find out that purpose they should feel like there life has a priceless value. In Steve Jobs commencement speech, he does an excellent job of explaining how to find your purpose, “Stay Hungry, Stay Foolish.”…
Most teenagers do not have a clue about what they want to be when they grow up. Most young adults also do not know where their path is in life. Even some full-blown adults are still trying to figure out their purpose. I was lucky. I knew exactly where I belonged from about the time I was seven up until now, at the decently young age of nineteen. I do not see my path changing anytime soon; in fact, I know it will never change. But, I did not just wake up one day as a child and know what my path was, while that would be impressive. Defining moments in one’s life defines who they are. There were lots of things I experienced in my life that made me realize my purpose, my absolute passion. I had four of these defining moments in my short span of…