Paper Topic:

Explain what Socrates means by claiming `The unexamined life is not worth living.`

Socrates was a well-known critical thinker in Athens . What we know of him is based on his students ' writings of him , as Socrates never wrote He was a very good conversationalist though , and he was known for going around the public market and conversing with people (Kemerling , 2006

He popularized what is now known as the Socratic method . He would engage another in a discussion however , Socrates only asked questions For every answer , Socrates asked questions . These questions however , do not merely answer the five H 's and one W these questions questioned

the essence of the position of the person . He asked questions either way , so that inconsistencies are made obvious , and discarded . Through this , he hoped that they would arrive at an answer independent of current social mores and values (Kemerling , 2006

It was due to this , and his ties with the previous government , that led to his execution . During his trial , he was known to have uttered , The unexamined life is not worth living ' This is in response to the option given to him , which is , he can escape execution if he either opts to be exiled from Athens , or be silent for the rest of his life (Kemerling 2006

What he meant by this is that we are saturated with values and beliefs that we have not thought over thoroughly . Not only that , these are dependent on other people 's values and beliefs : they are not entirely our thoughts . Socrates wanted us to clean our slate , so to speak , and begin again so we can form our own beliefs regarding the world Socrates , for all his wisdom , was only certain of one thing : that he knew nothing . And for this , he was declared the wisest in the whole of Athens (Kemerling , 2006 . It is this perpetual state of innocence and curiosity that Socrates would like for us to develop . Nothing is sacred and everything should be examined . For it is only through washing ourselves of influence of others , of looking inside for answers , that we can hope to gain true wisdom

References

Kemerling , G (2006 . Socrates . Accessed 3 May 2008 from http /philosophypages .com /ph /socr .htm

Kemerling , G (2006 . Socrates : philosophical life . Accessed 3 May 2008 from http /www .philosophypages .com /hy /2d .htm...

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