Socrates Should Not Live In Exile

I. What Is Philosophy? In the given quote, Socrates is defending himself in court against Meletus’ claim that he believes in false Gods, and he is giving his opinion on the meaning of life. He says that a docile life – one without speculation and reason – is not worth living. He explains that he will not live in exile because it is God’s will that he be a gadfly, and that he will not keep quiet because enlightenment is his meaning in life. He explains to the jury that he is like a gadfly and that he must stir the community in order to keep them thinking (Plato, p. 29). Without an annoyance to keep them buzzing, societies will fall into ruts, and Socrates claims that he is the gadfly that keeps them on their toes. This makes him important
The argument is clear; He should not be forced to leave because it is his purpose to force the people to think, even if they don’t like to. The argument is also valid because I think that the three premises lead to the conclusion that he should not be exiled or killed. The first premise is that he is like a gadfly that bothers the townspeople. The second is that societies need an annoyance, like Socrates, to help enlighten them and make sure they examine themselves. The third premise is that enlightenment makes life worth living. These could be argued against – by either claiming there is other meaning to life or that societies don’t need someone bothersome – but I think that it is true that his shenanigans would have kept them guessing, and that he could have been good for their problem-solving skills. I also believe that examining myself and my situation is extremely important in my life. These valid premises would lead to the conclusion that he should stay because he is good for society, therefore he has a sound
There was no set meaning in life before we got here. We got here and then decided what our meaning is. Sartre says that this can lead to despair because people fear controlling their own lives (Sartre, p 4). If we are responsible for our fate, then we have to put forward effort and hold ourselves responsible when we come up short, and that idea scares people. I think this is a good argument because the argument makes sense and it seems valid and sound. It seems true to me that we are born without our meaning in life and that we have to decide what that meaning is. I believe this because everyone has different interests and reasons that we want to live. This would lead to the conclusion that existence precedes essence because we each choose how to live our