Socrates Good Life
What is the Good life? How does one achieve the good life? Is the good life attainable for all people? These questions were all juggled by Socrates in Ancient Greece between 300-400 BCE. Socrates was known for being a great speaker and being able to get his point across to those who listened. Socrates’ knowledge formed the basis for the start of his prodigy Plato, who went on to be a famous philosopher of his own right. In The Apology, Socrates’ idea of the Good Life is detailed through The Socratic Method, and The Riddle of Apollo.
Socrates spent a great deal of his time working on answering questions about the Good Life. First, he had to identify what the Good Life was. Socrates taught that the Good Life must be intentional and catered specially …show more content…
Socrates stated in The Apology, “The unexamined life is not worth living” (Plato 79). What if a human was not advanced enough to examine his or her own life? For example, a person with a severe cognitive disorder might not be able to comprehend life enough in order to examine it. That person is still able to live a life of worth, yet they cannot examine life as Socrates outlines in his writings. Socrates needs to be broader in his ideas of the Good Life. A person with an inability to examine life, such as a man or woman with downs syndrome or a form of mental retardation can still have a Good Life. Although the Good Life would not be the same as the average person, all people have a specific Good Life. Also, why does Socrates have the ability to tell all other humans how to live? He is a human, not a celestial being. Socrates would have to be a higher being in order to have the credibility to tell humans how they must live in order to achieve the Good Life. Also, how can Socrates know the way to live the Good Life, if he himself is claiming to know nothing? In the Riddle of Apollo, Socrates claims in court that he knows nothing, therefore he is the wisest man. If Socrates knows nothing how does he know the steps to achieving the Good Life? Socrates seems to contradict himself, in telling people how to live their individual life in order to reach the Good Life, yet he claims to have knowledge of nothing. The idea of the Good Life is supposed to be subjective to each individual, yet Socrates makes direct claims as to how to achieve the Good Life. If the Good Life changes for one person, how can it only be reached through a few steps laid out by Socrates? Each individual person would have his/her own way to reach what they believe is their Good Life. Although Socrates is a well-respected in the Philosophy field, he is not exempt from multiple criticisms to his
Socrates spent a great deal of his time working on answering questions about the Good Life. First, he had to identify what the Good Life was. Socrates taught that the Good Life must be intentional and catered specially …show more content…
Socrates stated in The Apology, “The unexamined life is not worth living” (Plato 79). What if a human was not advanced enough to examine his or her own life? For example, a person with a severe cognitive disorder might not be able to comprehend life enough in order to examine it. That person is still able to live a life of worth, yet they cannot examine life as Socrates outlines in his writings. Socrates needs to be broader in his ideas of the Good Life. A person with an inability to examine life, such as a man or woman with downs syndrome or a form of mental retardation can still have a Good Life. Although the Good Life would not be the same as the average person, all people have a specific Good Life. Also, why does Socrates have the ability to tell all other humans how to live? He is a human, not a celestial being. Socrates would have to be a higher being in order to have the credibility to tell humans how they must live in order to achieve the Good Life. Also, how can Socrates know the way to live the Good Life, if he himself is claiming to know nothing? In the Riddle of Apollo, Socrates claims in court that he knows nothing, therefore he is the wisest man. If Socrates knows nothing how does he know the steps to achieving the Good Life? Socrates seems to contradict himself, in telling people how to live their individual life in order to reach the Good Life, yet he claims to have knowledge of nothing. The idea of the Good Life is supposed to be subjective to each individual, yet Socrates makes direct claims as to how to achieve the Good Life. If the Good Life changes for one person, how can it only be reached through a few steps laid out by Socrates? Each individual person would have his/her own way to reach what they believe is their Good Life. Although Socrates is a well-respected in the Philosophy field, he is not exempt from multiple criticisms to his