The unexamined life is not worth living

"The unexamined life is not worth living" (Ancient Greek: ὁ ... ἀνεξέταστος βίος οὐ βιωτὸς ἀνθρώπῳ) is a famous dictum apparently uttered by Socrates at his trial for impiety and corrupting youth, for which he was subsequently sentenced to death, as described in Plato's Apology (38a5–6).

Part of a series on
Socrates
"I know that I know nothing"
"The unexamined life is not worth living"
gadfly · Trial of Socrates
Eponymous concepts
Socratic dialogue · Socratic intellectualism
Socratic irony · Socratic method
Socratic paradox · Socratic questioning
Socratic problem · Socratici viri
Disciples
Plato · Xenophon
Antisthenes · Aristippus · Aeschines
Related topics
Academic Skepticism · Megarians · Cynicism · Cyrenaics · Platonism · Aristotelianism · Stoicism · Virtue ethics · The Clouds
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Rationale

This statement relates to Socrates' understanding and attitude towards death and his commitment to fulfill his goal of investigating and understanding the statement of the Pythia (i.e. that there was no one wiser than Socrates). Socrates understood the Pythia's response to Chaerephon's question as a communication from the god Apollo and this became Socrates's prime directive, his raison d'etre. For Socrates, to be separated from elenchus by exile (preventing him from investigating the statement) was therefore a fate worse than death. Since Socrates was religious and trusted his religious experiences, such as his guiding daimonic voice, he accordingly preferred to continue to seek the truth to the answer to his question, in the after-life, than live a life not identifying the answer on earth.[1]

Meaning

The words were supposedly spoken by Socrates at his trial after he chose death rather than exile. They represent (in modern terms) the noble choice, that is, the choice of death in the face of an alternative.[2]

Interpretation
See also: Trial of Socrates § Interpretations of the trial of Socrates

Socrates believed that philosophy – the love of wisdom – was the most important pursuit above all else. For some, he exemplifies more than anyone else in history the pursuit of wisdom through questioning and logical argument, by examining and by thinking. His 'examination' of life in this way spilled out into the lives of others, such that they began their own 'examination' of life, but he knew they would all die one day, as saying that a life without philosophy – an 'unexamined' life – was not worth living.[3][4]

gollark: Computer science isn't software engineering, though. CS is meant to teach more theory-oriented stuff.
gollark: As in, you think the majority of them don't *ask* for it, or you think the majority don't need degree-related skills?
gollark: The entry-level desk job things will probably get increasingly automated away anyway.
gollark: I didn't say that that produces *good* outcomes for people involved.
gollark: Apparently the (or at least a) reason for this problem is that a degree works as a proxy for some minimum standard at stuff like being able to consistently do sometimes-boring things for 4 years, remember information and do things with it, and manage to go to class on time. So it's useful information regardless of whether the employer actually needs your specialized knowledge at all (in many cases, they apparently do not). And they're increasingly common, so *not* having one is an increasing red flag - you may have some sort of objection to the requirement for them, but that can't be distinguished from you just not being able to get one.

References
  1. Brickhouse, Thomas C.; Smith, Nicholas D. (1994). Plato's Socrates. Oxford University Press. pp. 201–. ISBN 978-0-19-510111-9.
  2. Julian Baggini - Wisdom's folly The Guardian newspaper (Guardian News and Media Limited) Thursday 12 May 2005
  3. Spivey, Nigel; Squire, Michael (1 March 2011). Panorama of the Classical World. Getty Publications. pp. 230–. ISBN 978-1-60606-056-8.
  4. D.M. Johnson - Socrates and Athens (p.74) Cambridge University Press, 31 Mar 2011 ISBN 0521757487 [Retrieved 2015-04-25]
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