An Unexamined Life Is Not Worth Living

According to Socrates’ purpose, he sought out the wisest of people, taught the principle of virtue, and shared his divine beliefs; which had ultimately caused him to create some enemies. Through elenchus and refutation, Socrates’ proved that the wisest of people really weren’t that wise, and this examination was a highly attended event by wealthy young adults.

In Plato's Apology, the Oracle at Delphi told Socrates that he was the wisest man (21a-b). Shocked by the statement and disbelieving it, he wanted to find out if it was true. He asked everyone who claimed to have knowledge, and tried to understand the basis of that knowledge. He discovered that nobody actually knew what they thought they knew. Socrates' fundamental moral belief was that nobody would choose to do wrong, if only they knew it was wrong. This is because the wrong harms the person who chooses it, and nobody would choose to harm themselves. Combining these two observations, the unexamined life is one in which people live with the belief that they have knowledge, and then act on this false knowledge in ways that harm themselves (and

He goes on to tell the story of why he began to challenge the intellectuals of society in the first place. Socrates tells of a deceased friend by the name of Chaerephon who “… went to Delphi and boldly asked the oracle to tell him whether… there was anyone wiser than I [Socrates] was, and the Pythian prophetess answered that there was no man wiser.” This troubles Socrates, and he contemplates what this statement really means. Unable to come to a sound conclusion, he devises a plan to get the answer he seeks: “I reflected that if I could only find a man wiser than myself, then I might go to the god with a refutation in my hand. I should say to him, ‘Here is a man who is wiser than I am; but you said that I was the wisest.’” After meeting with a man who had a reputation for being wise, however, Socrates departed without the man wiser than he. He left the man, thinking to himself: “Well, although I do not suppose that either of us knows anything really beautiful and good, I am better off than he is – for he knows nothing, and thinks that he knows.” After encounters with multiple men who possess supposed wisdom, Socrates realizes the prophecy must be correct: “… but the truth is, O men of Athens, that God only is wise; and in this oracle he means to say that the wisdom of men is little or nothing…” Socrates proceeds to question Meletus in front of the councilmen. He questions Meletus about the charges he has brought against him and his reasons

In Plato’s Apology, the Oracle at Delphi asserted that Socrates is the wisest man of them all, Socrates was confused because he believed that wisdom is what you know is the only thing that you know and he claimed that he knows nothing. Socrates was aware that he was not the wisest of them but did not understand what they meant when they said he was the wisest “For surely he does not lie” (Plato Pg. 26). With great confusion Socrates would then try to challenge what the Oracle had said and proved him wrong. I agree with Socrates belief in wisdom and what wisdom is all about, because knowledge is acquired when you admit to yourself that you know nothing. That knowledge you have already obtain will be the only knowledge you can declare until you are than shared with new knowledge.

Socrates tells a story in an attempt to explain this. It starts with a man named Chaerephon, a well respected citizen of Athens, who had died recently. Chaerephon goes to the Oracle at Delphi and "he asked if there was anyone wiser than" Socrates. (Apology, Plato, Philosophic Classics, page 23) The Oracle, of course, says that there is no man wiser than Socrates. When Socrates heard of what the Oracle said, he begins to wonder what riddle is hidden in those words. He knows that he is not a wise man, so he knows that he cannot be the wisest of men. Not knowing what then Oracle truly meant, he goes out to investigate this. He went to a man who was reputed to be very wise. He thought that he would find a man who is wiser than himself, and thus point out to the Oracle its mistake. Socrates finds that this man actually knows nothing that is worth knowing. When Socrates tries to point this out to the man, he and the bystanders become angry. Socrates says that he is wiser than this man because, while they both know nothing, Socrates realizes this. The other man thinks he knows things that he does not, while Socrates knows that he knows nothing. Socrates claims that he has done this with many men, and that each time, he came to the same result: the man knows nothing and thinks he knows everything, and Socrates has made the man angry. In continuing to do this, Socrates made many men angry, and that anger turned into

“Is the unexamined life worth living?” (The Apology, 2016, para. 48). This question has been asked by people since the time of Socrates. Many people delve into the quandary of this question seeking a greater understanding of their purpose. Often times, people live on the surface and never truly strive for self-examination, whereas others believe it is crucial to deeply examine one’s true self. Every life is worth living. However, the difference between simply existing in an unexamined life versus living life as God intended is momentous. An examined life is lived for the benefit of others more than oneself. Socrates’ question has revealed several different truths, including the value of self-examination, the importance

Socrates found his purpose through oracles and dreams by a divine power, “…since I was trying to find out the meaning of the oracle, I was bound to interview everyone who had a reputation for knowledge.” (Apology 22a), from the oracle of Apollo, Socrates believed that his purpose was to philosophize. Socrates would question reputable wise men and try to prove the oracle that he (Socrates) was not the wisest man. After interviewing men with a high reputation, Socrates began to expose them for their ignorance and their deficiency. He also determined that his wisdom was of no value, yet he was the wisest mortal. He also established that there are three levels of wisdom; “real wisdom” (the highest), being “wisest among men” (the middle), “not being wise, but seeming wise, especially to oneself” (the lowest). Even after establishing his purpose and proving the oracle, he felt as if he should still philosophize (Mission from God, pg. 20). Along with morality, Socrates had the belief that our purpose in life was to examine how to live, he thought that we must come

As the wisest man in all of ancient Greece, Socrates believed that the purpose of life was both personal and spiritual growth. He establishes this conviction in what is arguably his most renowned statement: "The unexamined life is not worth living."

Through interviewing the people who have an esteem for being wise, Socrates finds that the people who have greater characters are less wise than those with lesser characters, as they think they know what they do not know, and that makes them less wise. The real wisdom belongs to the God, and human wisdom is worthless. By reaching this conclusion, Socrates shows that when the Delphi said that he was the wisest person, he did not mean Socrates as an individual, but instead as an example of a person who realizes that human wisdom is

In order to do this, he goes about Athens questioning those he believes to be wiser than him, including politicians, poets, and craftsmen. Upon this questioning, he discovers that even those perceived as the wisest actually know far less than one would expect. Even the craftsmen, who have much practical wisdom in their respective fields, see their success as merely a tribute to their vast knowledge of many subjects. This, Socrates claims, is not true wisdom. Human wisdom can be described as the acknowledgement and acceptance that one does not know everything, nor is one capable of knowing everything. This, however, does not mean that people should sit idly by, never pursuing wisdom, for it is still vital to the attainment of a good life, which should be the ultimate goal of mankind.

Socrates lived most of his life constantly examining his own ideas and character. He saw such self-examination, whether conducted by himself or conversation with partners, to be the greatest good of a life worth living. Socrates' focus was to determine how to become a better human being. In this Socratic perspective, the quality and persistence of the attention we pay to living an examined life is at the heart of living well. Examining anything will result in understanding it. As for that Socrates quote "The unexamined life is not worth living". To me, that means to understand what you are living for is more important than actually living. Understanding yourself, your choices, and why you make those choices; Understanding others that influence you or are influenced by you. Truly understanding what you're doing in your lives endeavors are all things that would make your life "examined". Living an unexamined life would consist of never asking questions to help obtain knowledge to be intelligent instead of being completely ignorant to the world around you. However in this current society, knowledge seeking students are fed ideas and frameworks of interpretations, and attitudes about life and subjects

Yes, I do agree with Socrates that an unexamined life is not worth living because if you continuously go through your life not taking in what you’ve been doing, you’re wasting your time. The fact that you can live your life and not really question anything or take a grander look at it essentially means no purpose. Philosophical examination makes life better because it forces you to express your thoughts more thoroughly and pushes you to argue any case more. You put in a deeper thought into things rather than getting the simplistic answer and moving forward with it.

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.

An understanding of Socrates' philosophy is found in how he determines it is better to die than live under restrictions and accept the will of what he believes is a wrong society (5). In saying that he would rather die than live the unexamined life Socrates is stating that he would rather be dead, than live a life without the ability to question his surroundings. The main question that arrives out of this statement is if this is something that was said before he knew he had the potential

Now Socrates intrigued by the words of the Oracle began a quest to find the wisdom to wise men who believed, or who were known as such. He began talks with politicians, artists, poets, orators; and realized that despite the fame he had no wise possessed true wisdom by what Socrates did see them and told them they were not only wise sages believed that; Socrates believed to be a little wiser to know that really did not know anything, nor assumed any knowledge; to do this disdain and displeasure of the people conversing won; Since it is understandable that one would not like to tell someone who knows nothing; yet this is the task which Socrates and earned a bad