Thinking from Socrates Questions
I’m studying for my Philosophy class and need an explanation.
A) Socrates – “It is the greatest good for a human to discuss virtue everyday and those things about which you hear me conversing and testing myself and others, for the unexamined life is not worth living for humans.” (Plato, Apology 38a).
No one better exemplifies the pursuit of wisdom through questioning, examining, and thinking than Socrates. In this quote we find Socrates asserting the primacy of examination. For Socrates, to be prevented from philosophical inquiry and investigation is a fate worse than death. (2 paragraphs)
- What purpose does examining life serve?
- What is the aim of examination?
- What does this quote mean to you and what role does reflection play in your life?
B) In Plato’s Crito, at 50c., Socrates personifies the Law and dons the mask of the State laying out an early version of the Social Contract. The State claims that is has “given birth to Socrates, that it has nurtured and educated him to the best of its ability, and has provided him a share of all the good things it could.” Citizens essentially sign an unwritten contract by merely by living in the county and state that they do. If one is not satisfied with the laws of the county they are free to go wherever they please, no law raises any obstacle or forbids citizens from moving or keeping property.
. With the Crito, I would like you to start to thinking in terms of city-states and how each community, each county, and each state formulates its own laws. For example, the laws in Los Angeles are slightly different from San Diego, and the laws in California are very different from the laws in Florida or Texas. At the same time, observe Socrates loyalty, and start to reflect upon your concept of loyalty. (2 paragraphs)
- “The most important thing is not life, but the good life.” (48b) What do think Socrates means by the good life?
- What are your impressions of Socrates’ version of the social contract, do you believe that we make such an unwritten agreement with the county and state?
- Even if Socrates “signed” the contract, one might assume the he has the right to back out of the agreement since the state is violating its end of the bargain, Socrates appears to think that he has no right. What do think about Socrates’ intense devotion and fierce loyalty?
