The unexamined life is not worth living, says Socrates, the wisest man in ancient Greece. His credo has become the basic tenet of the philosophical quest.
At his trial in 399BC by the citizens of Athens, Socrates declared that from his incessant questioning, he found his contemporaries spend their lives pursuing various goals -- money, ambition, pleasure, physical security -- without asking themselves if these were important. Unless they raised such a question and seriously sought the answer -- through careful reflection, alert observation and critical arguments -- they would not know if they were doing the right thing.They might be wasting their energy, time and money in useless or even dangerous pursuits.
How do we believe what we believe? How do we arrive at our underlying set of beliefs (which includes assumptions, prejudices and convictions)? It is important that we examine the process to determine if we have acquired the correct set of beliefs because they influence our thinking and motivate our action.
Check the following link: http://www.philosophypages.com/hy/2d.htm
(substituting Bush for the over-confident Euthyphro provides some very interesting parallels).
by MixMasterE
No comments:
Post a Comment