SOCRATIC LEGACY

There are different views on the value of philosophical reflection. What we will
draw attention to, however, are views attributed to Socrates and from which we
would infer an answer. Three claims of Socrates from Plato’s apology and
Protagoras are worth noting.

First: “know thyself”

Second: “The unexamined life is not worth living”; and
Third: “virtue is knowledge of good and bad”
In what follows, these three claims will be related to one another in an attempt to
persuade you of the value of philosophical reflection.
Socrates professed that philosophical reflection is necessary in the life of every
person. His pronouncement “know thyself” and “the unexamined life is not worth
living” are to be understood this way. Socrates philosophized where people
usually gather (agora in Greek) and compelled those he conversed with to think,
to defend their views, to account for what they know and they do not know. He
did this by asking individuals a series of question. You can imagine how people
were annoyed! It is common for people to welcome a discussion that reveals how
little they know.