PL 201 Discussion 1 Socrates Philosophical Life

Socrates Philosophical Life

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Socrates Philosophical Life

Socrates was the first philosopher to implement the first analytical book. Living a philosophical life means living consistently on the basis of reason so conceived in everything that one does. Socrates therefore had a particular conception that is not followed by all his successors in the today’s tradition, of what living on the basis of reason entailed, those particularities are explored (Benjamin, 1992). According to both Socrates and all his successors, living a philosophical life and being a philosopher means, one living according to the reason that is conceived as a capacity for argument and analysis in pursuit of that which is the truth. In addition to that, he believed that every philosophy should achieve practical results for the advantage and greater well-being of the whole society. His usual behavior of his soul made him to believe that all the virtues converge at one point which is the good or the knowledge of one true self and purposes through the course of his lifetime.

Socrates dedication to careful reasoning transformed the whole of the enterprise. Socrates philosophical way of life cares so much about speaking and doing what is right. He always sought genuine knowledge rather than having mere victory over his opponent (Usher, 2005). Although his public teaching and conversational skills made him so famous, he wrote nothing and therefore we tend to rely on his students especially Plato and Xenophon for any detailed information about his philosophical life.

Socrates way of life and arguments were one of the funniest and some people found him crazy and funny while others criticized him. Like he declared that there is no person who errs knowingly and also no one errs willingly. He argued that, when a person does what is wrong, this is the failure of their intellectual to know what is right because no person who can do the wrong thing when he or she already has the knowledge of what the right thing is (James, 2013). The reason as to why Socrates thinks that it is so important to maintain that way of life is because he thinks that his way of life is the best way for a human being to live the most productive way of bringing happiness to the others.

References:

Benjamin, J (1992): The Trial and death of Socrates. Four Dialogues. Dover Publications.

Usher, M (2005): Wise Guy: The Life and Philosophy of Socrates. Farrar, Straus and Giroux (BYR) Publishers.

James, M (2013): The Philosophical Life. Twelve Great Thinkers and the Search for Wisdom, from Socrates to Nietzsche. One World Publications.