Analysis Of Plato's Famous Philosophical Text 'Apology'

Plato’s famous philosophical text, Apology, is the account of Socrates’ trial for attempting to corrupt the youth and challenging the popular belief in the Greek Gods. Socrates’ wisely stated during the trial that, “the unexamined life is not worth living for a human being” (Apology). His idea of the good life was a life in which one’s complete self seeks out the universal truths and if his ideas were applied to our modern society, they would still be largely applicable.

Socrates’ use of the phase ‘the unexamined life’ could have multiple meanings and applications. The most direct interpretation this phase would be someone who does not seek life’s answers and the universal truths as he does. Every day, Socrates’ questions those in the Athens

By seeking the truths, we gain knowledge about many things. This will only help us throughout our lives as we encounter more experiences. Over time, the Greeks believed that the body lost vitality and when it ran out, we died. Plato said that, “As long as we have a body and our soul is fused with such an evil we shall never adequately attain what we desire, which we affirm to be the truth.” This shows that Plato believed that human beings had two components to them: a body and soul. Both must be given an appropriate amount of attention to keep them healthy. There are many things that can lead to an unhealthy body, such as disease, hunger, sleep deprivation, and much more. We must attempt to keep our bodies healthy, so we can seek truth. On less thought about side, we must also keep our souls healthy. There are three components of our soul: reason, spirit, and desire. One must attend to each in order to have a healthy soul. Each of these components acts as a slider that can go between just and unjust. If you regular practice reason/intellect, you can possess the virtue of wisdom. If not, you are ignorant. By being spirited and passionate, you can become courageous. If not, you possess cowardice. If you desire good things, such as the truths, then you possess self-discipline. If you let your desires obsess over many pleasures than you have immoderation. By obtaining

I believe Socrates’ views on life can be used by many to improve their lives. Many people today have become so materialistic in way that is unhealthy for the soul. People neglect their soul and do whatever they please because they think a life full of pleasures is a good life. This is not true though, a good life in today’s society is one that is lived in a modified Socratic way. We must continue to seek the universal truths and become a more complete human being as Socrates said, but also find a way to incorporate technology to benefit ourselves and not hinder us. Winifred Gallagher states that “the targets of your attention are the building blocks of your life” (Rapt: Attention and the Focused Life). This is what modern technology attempts to tap into. Companies exploit our biological attention sense in order to make more money. This is only creating a distraction from our goal of seeking the truth of life. We must try to repress our desires to use this unproductive technology with our self-discipline and know how to use our technology to aid in our search for truths. The internet allows us to gain immense amount of knowledge that Socrates could have never dreamed of, yet it means nothing unless we can control ourselves and seek the knowledge that is truly important. In conclusion, technology should be positively applied to help us