Essay On Socrates Unexamined Life

One could argue that Socrates examined life, and yet what does that mean? From my understanding of the Apology, Socrates did not just live the life of the ordinary Greek he questioned life. What did he mean by “the unexamined life is not worth living?” I believe he meant that we must question everything around us. That the answer “things have always been this way” wasn’t a good enough answer. If we look at Sparta, they lived their lives as dictated by the government. There was no “I” in Sparta, Sparta was a community without individuality. The Spartans never questioned their lives revolving around war and training warriors they just did as told. Socrates is very different from this aspect of the ancient Greek culture. Socrates would question
He examined. He examined his life, his purpose, the surrounding people, the culture, the motives, etc., that revolved around him. And thus, by his definition, he lived his life. I very much agree with this technique of living not taking anything as given but questioning what is before me. I do find it hard to agree completely with Socrates in that the “unexamined life is not worth living”. I find this a bit of a blanket statement that leaves many questions to be answered. And I’m sure he would be very pleased with himself to hear me ponder the questions that arise. Anyone who wants to create change, be it scientific, political, economical, spiritual, must question the way of life around them in the world. You cannot produce change if you do not know what is wrong with the way of life. This is how the greater thinkers are born. Yet, this raises the question, should this mean that a man who lives his life going by the things as they are and does not examine his life or the way of life that he has followed should live? Should a man of an unexamined life have his life taken away? Or should he be forced to examine the life he is