Socrates The Meaning Of Life - 1154 Words

The original meaning of the word philosophy comes from the Greek roots philo- meaning love and -sophos, or wisdom. When someone studies philosophy they want to understand how and why people do certain things and how to live a good life. In other words, they want to know the meaning of life. Socrates was considered the father of ancient philosophy, and the wisest man in ancient Greece. Although he was eventually condemned for his wisdom, his spoken words are still listened to and followed today. 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. Socrates lived his life to question and†¦show more content†¦He did not merely say that the unexamined life was not a noble existence or that it was the path of the less righteous, rather the unexamined life is just not worth living at all. 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 youre 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 intellig ent 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 subjectsShow MoreRelatedThe Meaning of Life According to Socrates, Epicurus, and Me1794 Words   |  7 PagesThe Meaning of Life According to Socrates, Epicurus, and I The Meaning of Life According to Socrates, Epicurus, and I The two philosophers I chose to examine for the purposes of this paper/exercise are Socrates and Epicurus. As stated, these men were exclusively philosophers, while they were also writers and theorists. I chose Socrates because he is a fundamental fixture in Western philosophy. He is respected and read by scholars and professionals all around the world for centuries. 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