The Unexamined Life Is Not Worth Living: The Value Of Philosophy

According to the ancient Greek philosopher Socrates, ' The unexamined life is not worth living.' ( Plato, Apol. 38 a.) Many epochs later, in the 19th century, John Stuart Mill also stated that, ' It is better to be a human being dissatified than a pig satisfied; better to be Socrates dissatisfied than a fool satisfied. And if the fool, or the pig, have a different opinion, it is because they only know their own side of the question.' ( Mill, 1863)

T.S Eliot appears to allude to this notion of being 'satisfied', yet ignorant at the beginning of his poem Marina (1930): ' Those who sit in the sty of contentment meaning death/ Those who suffer the ecstacy of the animals meaning death.' Lust and sloth, two of the Seven Deadly Sins are deployed here to describe a kind of spiritual death which stems from a marked lack of self- awareness.

Taking this into account, and since I am a proponent of Socrates' perceptive concept that, ' ..the unexamined life is not worth living.' ( Blackburn, 1999, p.12), I think that the most important value of philosophy is the freedom to self- reflect and actively engage in contemplation. According to Betrand Russell, philosophy is profoundly valuable, not only because it reveals, ' unsuspected possibilities' ( Russell, 1988, p.91) but because it liberates us from interminable ways of thinking which can enslave us, rather than empower us:

The man who has no tincture of philosophy goes through life imprisoned in the prejudices derived from common sense, from the habitual beliefs of his age or his nation, and from convictionswhich have grown up in his mind without the co-operation or consent of his deliberate reason. To such a man the world tends to become definite, finite, obvious; common objects rouse no questions, and unfamiliar possibilities are contemptuously rejected.

( Russell, 1988, p.91)

With this in mind, the freedom to self- reflect enables human beings to transcend. ' narrow and personal aims' ( Russell, 1988, p. 91). I agree with Russell that to live a life that is fueled by, ' instinctive wishes' ( Russell, 1988, p.91) rather than one that is in harmony that is balanced by contemplation can be ' feverish and confined' In marked contrast, to this confused and inadequate state of being ' the philosophical life is calm and free. ' ( Russell, 1988, p.91)

By being able to self- reflect effectively and think our own thoughts we free ourselves from the often pernicious influence of others: ' There are always people telling us what we want, how they will provide it, and what we should believe. Convictions are infectious, and people can make others convinced of almost anything.' ( Blackburn, 1999)

For example, think of the persuasive effects of mass advertising and the relentless public relations( propaganda?) of party politics, where the power to charm, rather than to implement progressive policies, seems all- pervasive. Although it is difficult to break free from the rigid claims of the tribe ( i.e. nation, religion, social class, politican clan etc.), If individuals conform to the beliefs, attitudes and behaviours of the majority ( herd mentality) then they can become inauthentic and cease to actualise their potential in life . ' Reflection helps us to step back, to see our perspective on a situation as perhaps distorted or blind, at the very least to see if there is argument for preferring our ways, or whether it is just subjective.' ( Blackburn, 1999, p.11)

I know that there are those critics in contemporary society ( as in bygone ages, the trial of Socrates, and the trial of the unjustly maligned truth-teller Julian Assange in contemporary times, immediately spring to mind) who consider philosophy to be a cynical, subversive enterprise; at odds with the world rather than in harmony with it. However, it is surely valuable to society for philosophers to challenge prevailing orthodoxies and systems, some of which are ostensibly not fit for purpose. Philosophy is of paramount importance, '... to any university worth the name, and any society worth having. We all need to be challenged out of our mistakes, stupidities, complacencies especially when it is our own intellectual blinkers that prevent them from seeing them as such. '

( Priest, 2006, p.207)

Reference List:

Blackburn, S, (1999) Think. Oxford: Oxford University Press.

Mill, J.S. ( 1863) Utilitarianism. London. Parker, son and Bourn.

Plato.( 1966) Plato in Twelve Volumes, Vol. 1 translated by Harold North Fowler; Introduction by W.R.M. Lamb. Cambridge, MA, Harvard University Press; London: William Heinemann Ltd.

Priest, G. ( 2006) ' What Is Philosophy?' Philosophy, 81 (316), pp. 189-207. Available at

https://www.jstor.org/stable/4127433 ( Accessed 5th May, 2024).

Russell, B. ( 1988) The Problems of Philosophy.Oxford: Oxford University Press.