Socrates A Life Worth Living
"And if I say once again that daily to discourse nearly virtue, and of those other things about which you hear me examining myself and others, is the greatest skillful of human, and that the unexamined life is not worth living, y'all are still less likely to believe me."
Introduction
In the year 399 B.C., in Athens, Socrates was brought to trial on charges of impiety and corrupting the youth. He was found guilty and condemned to death. The Apology, written by Plato, is an business relationship Socrates' defence speech at the trial. In the previous passage, Socrates explains why he would rather die than finish practicing philosophy and live a life without virtue. In this passage, Socrates has only been found guilty and the death penalization has been proposed. As per the Athenian court arrangement, Socrates must suggest an alternative penalization and the 500 jurors must determine between the ii. Socrates initially proposes that instead of punishment he deserves to receive free meals at the country'due south expense for the residuum of his life. This proposal must have pissed a lot the jurors off considering they speedily sentence him to death.
Reading: Socrates on The Examined Life
The following reading is from the Apology by Plato, translation by Benjamin Jowett. The full text, with a more thorough introduction, tin can be read online at Project Gutenberg. You can likewise listen to an audio version of this reading on Youtube.
And so he proposes expiry as the penalization. And what shall I propose on my role, O men of Athens? Clearly that which is my due. And what is my due? What render shall be made to the human who has never had the wit to exist idle during his whole life; merely has been careless of what the many care for—wealth, and family unit interests, and armed services offices, and speaking in the assembly, and magistracies, and plots, and parties. Reflecting that I was really too honest a man to exist a politico and alive, I did not get where I could do no good to you or to myself; but where I could do the greatest skilful privately to every i of you, thither I went, and sought to persuade every man amidst yous that he must await to himself, and seek virtue and wisdom before he looks to his individual interests, and wait to the state before he looks to the interests of the land; and that this should be the lodge which he observes in all his actions. What shall be washed to such an one? Doubtless some good thing, O men of Athens, if he has his reward; and the expert should be of a kind suitable to him. What would exist a advantage suitable to a poor man who is your distributor, and who desires leisure that he may instruct you? There tin be no advantage so plumbing fixtures as maintenance in the Prytaneum[ref]The Pyrtaneum was like a boondocks hall where public entertainments were held, particularly to Olympian victors when they returned dwelling.[/ref], O men of Athens, a reward which he deserves far more than than the denizen who has won the prize at Olympia in the horse or chariot race, whether the chariots were drawn past two horses or past many. For I am in desire, and he has enough; and he only gives you the appearance of happiness, and I give you lot the reality. And if I am to judge the penalty fairly, I should say that maintenance in the Prytaneum is the just render[ref]Socrates is basically saying he should become costless meals for life instead of the capital punishment. The Thou.M.A Grube translation is much clearer: "So if I must make a just cess of what I deserve, I assess it as this: free meals in the Prytaneum."[/ref].
Perhaps you recollect that I am braving yous in what I am saying now, as in what I said before about the tears and prayers. Simply this is non then. I speak rather because I am convinced that I never intentionally wronged whatever 1, although I cannot convince yous—the fourth dimension has been too short; if in that location were a law at Athens, every bit at that place is in other cities, that a capital letter crusade should not be decided in one day, then I believe that I should take convinced you. Merely I cannot in a moment refute great slanders; and, equally I am convinced that I never wronged some other, I will assuredly not wrong myself. I will not say of myself that I deserve any evil, or propose any penalty. Why should I? because I am afraid of the penalty of death which Meletus proposes? When I do non know whether expiry is a good or an evil, why should I propose a penalty which would certainly be an evil? Shall I say imprisonment? And why should I live in prison, and be the slave of the magistrates of the year—of the Eleven? Or shall the penalty be a fine, and imprisonment until the fine is paid? There is the same objection. I should have to lie in prison, for money I have none, and cannot pay. And if I say exile (and this may possibly exist the penalty which yous will affix), I must indeed be blinded past the love of life, if I am and so irrational as to expect that when you, who are my own citizens, cannot endure my discourses and words, and have found them so grievous and odious that you will have no more of them, others are probable to suffer me. No indeed, men of Athens, that is not very likely. And what a life should I pb, at my age, wandering from metropolis to urban center, ever changing my place of exile, and always beingness driven out! For I am quite certain that wherever I become, there, every bit here, the young men will flock to me; and if I drive them away, their elders will drive me out at their request; and if I let them come, their fathers and friends will drive me out for their sakes.
Some one will say: Yes, Socrates, but cannot you lot agree your tongue, and then you may become into a foreign metropolis, and no one volition interfere with you? Now I accept great difficulty in making you lot understand my answer to this. For if I tell you that to do as you lot say would exist a disobedience to the God, and therefore that I cannot hold my tongue, you will not believe that I am serious; and if I say again that daily to soapbox about virtue, and of those other things about which you hear me examining myself and others, is the greatest good of homo, and that the unexamined life is not worth living, yous are still less likely to believe me. Yet I say what is truthful, although a affair of which it is difficult for me to persuade you. Also, I take never been accepted to retrieve that I deserve to suffer whatever harm. Had I coin I might have estimated the offence at what I was able to pay, and not have been much the worse. Merely I have none, and therefore I must ask you to proportion the fine to my means. Well, perhaps I could afford a mina[ref]One mina would be equivalent to around iii months wages for the average laborer in Athens.[/ref], and therefore I advise that penalty: Plato, Crito, Critobulus, and Apollodorus, my friends here, bid me say 30 minae, and they will exist the sureties. Allow 30 minae exist the penalisation; for which sum they volition be ample security to you.
Give-and-take
Socrates doesn't go into a lot of detail in this passage about what exactly constitutes the examined life or why "the unexamined life is not worth living". Then what exactly does Socrates hateful? It's a rather radical statement and if we accept information technology, it means nosotros ought to live a life like Socrates; ignoring wealth and social status to focus on philosophy.
A good identify to get-go is with the idea that the examined life involves "daily soapbox near virtue". Presumably this ways questioning yourself and others near what it means to live a expert life and trying each twenty-four hour period to find an answer to the question of how we ought to live.
Why is this important? Nosotros can speculate on why Socrates values the examined life so highly if we understand Socrates' other beliefs nearly virtue and knowledge, namely that virtue is noesis, that no one does incorrect willingly and that it is ameliorate to die than to alive an evil life. Consider a man who is lost a sea and is ignorant of bones maritime navigation. He is but as probable to sail into the middle of the ocean as he is to observe the nearest coast. Too, a man who doesn't examine life will be ignorant of how to alive a virtuous life. He volition alive life blindly and is just as likely to do evil as he is to do good. And then if we hold with Socrates that an evil life is non worth living, we tin sympathise why he believes the unexamined life is not worth living.
Farther Reading
To learn more about Socrates and his views on virtue, knowledge and the examined life, delight meet the links below:
- Total e-text of the Apology bachelor from Projection Gutenberg
- Modern translation of the Apology from Amazon
- Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy article on Socrates
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Socrates A Life Worth Living,
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