Socrates: The Unexamined Life Is Not Worth Living Essay

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Socrates taught that a life that is governed by the rules and dictations of others, oblivious of the need for self-examination and evaluation is not worth living. He believed that a valuable life is one in which the individual strives for self-knowledge, wisdom, and a deeper understating of the self (Hoffpauir, 2020). A failure to question one’s actions and the way the world works results in irrational behaviors and the inability to distinguish good from bad (Hoffpauir, 2020). This view is controversial, with many philosophers providing opposing views. One group supports the argument that an unexamined life is worthless while the other criticizes and downplays the importance of superfluous examination of one’s life. Socrates’ argument is not successful because a life of rigorous examination is not fit for every individual, and mainly because happiness in life originates from a myriad of factors. Therefore, his argument is unreasonable, flawed, and wrong, even though it has a degree of truth to it. Factors such as good health, family, gratitude, and values such as kindness and generosity make life worth living, even though it is not examined. Socrates’ belief that the lack of constant examination and evaluation of one’s life makes it worthless has little merit because it downplays the importance of many other factors that are the ingredients of a happy and fulfilling life. An acceptance of Socrates’ view would change my life a bit because it would introduce a dimension that would involve evaluating personal choices, behaviors, attitudes, and thoughts to determine which are beneficial and which are detrimental. However, it would lead to a self-entanglement that would be difficult to abdicate because of the development of the habit of overthinking. Moreover, it would encourage obliviousness to other factors that give life value. Contemplation should be conducted frequently, and not as rigorous as Socrates recommends.

Reference

Hoffpauir, J. M. (2020). Between Socrates and the many: A study of Plato’s Crito. Lexington Books.

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IvyPanda. "Socrates: The Unexamined Life Is Not Worth Living." October 14, 2022. https://ivypanda.com/essays/socrates-the-unexamined-life-is-not-worth-living/.

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