The Apology: Socrates: A Way Of Life

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Essay Two In the Apology, Socrates a Greek philosopher faced trial after being accused of not accepting the gods recognized by the State, creating new deities and, therefore corrupting, the youth of Athens. Socrates to not only to be found not guilty of his accusations also sought to enlighten the court with his knowledge on how not knowing things is truly the key to understanding the world. Socrates was a firm believer that if you were truly intelligent one must accept that knowing everything is very much impossible; therefore, the wisest of men must understand that they know nothing. Socrates believed it was his personal duty as a philosopher to point out those false wise men and show them how their ignorance is keeping them…show more content…
(38a5-6) Philosophy for Socrates was a way of life and Socrates used philosophy as an effort to make value in the world or to even discover his own path in the world. There is a major difference between the unexamined life and the examined life. The examined life pursuits after the truth, righteousness, virtuousness, and the advance of the city by following the knowledge of intrinsic worth and understanding the confines of our enlightenment. After being found guilty on trial Socrates was faced with exile or death in which he chooses death. Because of the wisdom Socrates has gained through living an examined life he believes the death does not need to be feared. Socrates believes that there is no point in fearing to unknown because we don’t truly understand what happens when the human body passes away. When we as human’s fear something there is usually an explanation as to why. However, since we have to evidence has to why we should fear death there is no need to dread the end of our mortal existence. Socrates trusts his own human knowledge to understand that fearing…show more content…
In Phaedo, Plato believes that philosophy is defined as the love and search for wisdom or on a deeper level meaning searching for what makes a man truly happy. For true philosophers loving to learn and pursing wisdom consistently is not just an intellectual pursuit but is a way of life. Plato believes that death is the ultimate form of detaching oneself from their own body. He believes that the body is a prison holding in the soul and once the body passes the soul is freed. The belief of a true philosopher is to believe that death doesn’t just occur once the body stops functioning but rather the philosopher dies before the bodily functions fail. Real truth-seekers understand that life is the constant search for the meaning of life or the search for what truly makes someone happy and then conforming to it. The body is merely an obstacle trying to prevent the soul from searching for knowledge and finding the meaning of life. When a philosopher leaves its mortal body it’s soul remains. Socrates believes that the body desires the pleasures of the flesh but when one’s mortal body dies it allows the soul to seek wisdom. Death of the body allows us to truly understand our realities using our mind and soul only. There are certain things that cannot be detected by our senses but only through the efforts of unassisted intelligence and

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