Socrates “the Unexamined Life Is Not Worth Living”

Socrates was the son of common Athenians. His father was a stone-mason/ sculptor, his mother a midwife. Socrates was also a stone-mason by trade and was to follow in his father’s footsteps. It was still yet unknown to Socrates in his early years that his ‘career’ would be that of a philosopher. It is said he was pulled out of his workshop by Crito because of the â€Å"beauty of his soul†. Jobless and serving no direct purpose to the Athenian (Greek) society, Socrates was well known in the Athenian markets where he spent much of his time ‘learning’ about others. In his spare time he had developed and honed an ability to use words and was intrigued with life; why things were; what they were; and how things were. Socrates had many†¦show more content†¦These Jurors, as Socrates stated, were exposed to the accusers and had their minds ‘corrupted’ by a convincing argument full of false information. The sophists already thought ill of Socrates because of the negative way he was portrayed in Aristophanes’ play called â€Å"The Clouds†. This had led to pre-bias within the jury. The jury, especially Meletus, got a first hand glimpse of how Socrates’ method works; Socrates cross-examined Meletus and embarrassed him in front of the 500 strong jury. According to secondary sources Socrates believed always that it was his ‘duty to question supposed ‘wise’ men and to expose their false wisdom as ignorance.’ This behaviour was admired by the youth; questioning the elders, but this led to fear and hatred amongst his peers, thus leading to his trial. The Athenians were a traditional people who undertook little reflection on their lives – counter to Socrates’ approach to life. A society with great anxiety they were threatened by Socrates. They were greatly conflicted by the value systems of the time – their anxieties related to ‘identity and difference, individualism and participation, dynamics and form, freedom and destiny.’ I suggest that perhaps they were fearful of what they might find out about themselves if they began to reflect on their lives, examine their lives, as opposed to being fearful of Socrates. It wasn’t fear of Socrates, it was fear of themselves. Socrates became theShow MoreRelatedSocrates And The Unexamined Life Is Not Worth Living1097 Words   |  5 PagesEveryone has a life to live; however, there are quite different between the unexamined life and the examined life. In the word of Socrates,† The unexamined life, for a human, is not worth living†, â€Å"the unexamined life† means people have no question, they never question the life, and they don’t want to know about the truth, and they don’t know who they are. 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