The unexamined life is not worth living – were the words of Socrates during the end of his unjust trial. Charged for corrupting youth and not believing in gods of the state. He was subsequently found guilty and sentenced to death. Socrates was given a chance to propose his own punishment. This he did, however not until he made it clear to the jury that he will not stop his discourse as long as he lives. Socrates believed in teaching virtues and pointing out the wrongdoing of others so much he valued it more than his life.
Why was Socrates put to trial?
By the ripe old age of 70, Socrates has acquired plenty of enemies over the years. It all began when a friend of his went to visit the oracle of Delphi to enquire if there was anyone wiser than Socrates. The oracle confirmed there were none.
Naturally, Socrates surprised by this statement, decided to test it`s validity. He was determined to find someone in Athens who possessed greater wisdom than he to prove the oracle wrong. He first paid his visit to a politician who had a reputation for being wise. After their conversation, Socrates concluded that the politician was not as wise as everyone thought, for he thought he knew something that he truly did not. Upon trying to explain this however, he was harshly scolded and chased away.
Subsequently, Socrates tried this experiment on politicians, artists and poets. Eventually coming to similar conclusion as he explains during his trial :
The poets appeared to me to be much in the same case; and I further observed that upon the strength of their poetry they believed themselves to be the wisest of men in other things in which they were not wise.
The Clouds play by Aristophanes
Having offended a number of Athenians in power, some eventually conspired to slander his name. One such instance occurred in the play of Aristophanes named The Clouds.
In this play Socrates is portrayed as someone who twists the truth and teaches others to win any argument right or wrong through deceitful speech. According to the play he leads a “thinking-shop” and persuades people that heavens is an oven and that people are akin to glowing coal. At the beginning of the story an old man comes to see Socrates to learn how to fool his debt collectors. Soon enough he is promised to become an orator skilled in deception.
Unfortunately, the play served as a contributing factor to the prosecution of Socrates.
Socrates: You shall become in oratory a tricky knave, a
thorough rattle, a subtle speaker. But keep quiet.
Excerpt from The Clouds by Aristophanes
Where THE QUOTE Comes from
The quote can be found in one of the writings by Plato titled Apology (Απολογία meaning defense in Greek). Socrates was accused by a young poet named Meletus of teaching deceptive doctrines. The official title was: “doer of evil, who corrupts youth and does not believe in the gods of the state”.
After a long debate Socrates was found guilty and was asked to propose his own punishment. He responded by stating that whatever the punishment may be he will not stop his discourse about virtue. He saw it as his life purpose to point out the flaws in himself and others, that way he could have a positive impact on people`s lives.
And if I say again that daily to discourse about virtue, and of those other things about which you hear me examining myself and others, is the greatest good of man, and that the unexamined life is not worth living, you are still less likely to believe me.
Excerpt from Apology by Plato
How you can start examining your own life
As common to all people, we all have blind spots pertaining to certain parts of our life. Whether we do not pay close attention to our health by overeating and not exercising. Maybe we spend too much money on items that we do not need thus creating financial stress and big debts. Or perhaps we are stuck in a wrong relationship with someone who is not compatible and this hurts both parties.
Whatever the blind spots may be, you must first reveal them to yourself. The sooner this is done the sooner you can take your life to the next level. To achieve this, you must rethink your actions on a regular basis and judge if they bring you the positive outcome that you desire. There are several ways of doing this, here are some of my personal favorite.
- Consult your close friends and family for feedback.
- Write down your thoughts.
- Take some time off for a long walk to think through any recent concerns.
- Start reading.
Nobody will want as much good for you as the people who are the closest to you. However, they might also be the ones to criticize you the most. Yet this may serve as a catalyst for your long term improvement, try to avoid being defensive and listen carefully.
Whilst our friends want the best for us, their advice is also not infallible, at the end of the day they are also people with their own flaws just like us. Hence this cannot be the only method for uncovering your weaknesses.
On a daily basis we have a lot of different thoughts running through our head. Some may be dreams, future aspirations, still others can be unhealthy thoughts. It is beneficial to write all of them down. This is especially useful in stressful periods of your life. You can use a journal or a diary to write down long ideas or any issues that you are currently facing. This will accomplish two things. First it can help relieve you of some of the immediate stress. Second and most important, it will help you better define problems or plan and reflect upon them in future.
Regardless of where you are in your life right now, taking a short “thinking” walk once or twice a week is crucial for your physical and mental health. So, take a long hike in a quiet area, preferably in the park and think through any concerns you had during the week. Analyze any issues that occurred, could they be avoided, could you have predicted some of them. How can you make sure you do not repeat the same mistakes in future.
Finally, in order to better evaluate your own life, you need to borrow advice from people who have overcome the same obstacles as those that stand in your way. There is a great number of distinguished individuals who faced the same issues as you. Even better some issues they have overcome you can avoid just by being aware of them.
A clever person solves a problem. A wise person avoids it. Albert Einstein
The trap of over analyzing
It is good idea to plan and evaluate your life on a weekly basis. Nevertheless, you must be cautious of being extremely self critical and blaming yourself for your flaws. Destructive criticism achieves nothing. Avoid critical comparison between yourself and others. Instead of asking questions like “Why am I like this” try to create actionable items. i.e. “how can I improve in X, how can I change” You will find that this way of phrasing your questions will help you deal with your issues in a much more productive manner.