The Unexamined Life Is Not Worth Living

As a young child, I was always drawn towards the field of health care. I remember reading about the many options that are held within it and wondering what path it would lead me on. Neonatal nursing was something that always came into my mind, but it was often pushed to the side by people and teachers who thought I should become a pediatrician instead. This became a real struggle for me, but as I grew up and began researching and exploring the health care field I came to a decision for myself. I came to the realization that everyone was wrong. I didn’t want to be a doctor at all. This sudden burst of independence from what everyone else wanted was the first step to reaching my end goal. Along with this, an accelerated education, volunteer

Planning my career and setting up goals beyond being a bedside nurse was not an easy step. It was finalized/ concreted by the influence and support of friends and my family

For me nursing was not something that I initially intended to do as a career. During elementary school and into high school I contemplated many different career paths such as cosmetology, teaching, psychology, and forensics. It was not till the later years of high school that I started to notice my desire to help other individuals and love of science, health, and different disease processes. My desire to help people has originated from the admiration of my grandfather’s

Nursing is a noble profession that will help me expand my horizon by letting me focus outside of myself and my self-interest. By focusing outside of myself, I will get to be an advocate for people’s health and a humanitarian who will have a chance to see the other aspect of medical

Joining sides with the nurse, my family drilled the idea of nursing into my brain. Nursing and forfeiting my plan seemed to become a necessity for a successful life. After hearing people tell me what I should do, I eventually started to agree with them. The actions of my family along with the way it affected me could compare to when someone tells a lie enough times, they'll believe it to be true. I never believed I wanted to be something more than I did at that

Socrates was a classical Greek philosopher who lived from 470 BC to 399 BC. Today he is credited with many influential philosophical ideas and quotes, but one in particular “An unexamined life is not worth living”. What Socrates means by this quote is that a life without the pursuit of wisdom and knowledge is no life at all. Socrates reflects on this idea to his audience of jurors during his trial. The men of Athens felt threatened by Socrates, believing him spreading his philosophical ideas would disrupt their way of life and order in the city of Athens. During his trial Socrates pleads his ignorance about the world around him and that all he wishes to do is to explore his thought and attempt to gain as much knowledge as he can. Throughout his life Socrates has gained a number of enemies and critics just for being a curious person. He understands this and preaches it to his jurors at the trial explaining to them that he would venture around the city conversing with professionals of a certain craft, not for the purpose of exposing their ignorance of the world around them but to learn for himself along with attempting to teach them to think critically and on their own. Socrates uses the craftsmen as an example in his defense. He explains that he approaches the craftsmen to become more knowledgeable about their profession and that they would be wiser than he was about the subject, he goes on to say “the good craftsmen seemed to me to have the

The Apology by Plato delves deep into the concept of wisdom and self-examination. Socrates declares that “the unexamined life is not worth living”. Putting this phrase into context, Socrates has been falsely accused by Meletus of corrupting the youth of Athens and believing in artificial gods that were not the same as the gods of Athens. Meletus represents the hypocrisy of the world, he, who is not guiltless in the face of accusation, has falsely accused Socrates of social wrongdoing. These accusations stem from Meletus’ steadfast insecurity of himself. Socrates exposes Meletus’ insecurity that he may be morally corrupt himself. These accusations fulfill that insecurity, that in falsely accusing Socrates of moral corruption, he is proving

Growing up I did not dream about becoming a nurse. I graduated from high school with honors and was planning to go to law school. However, several months later, my life drastically changed. Unexpectedly, my beloved mother was diagnosed with stage II ovarian cancer. Spending countless days and nights by her side at the hospital made me recognize how significant and life-saving her care was. Nurses were highly skilled professionals who worked together to provide essential care for my mother, give immense support and encouragement, ensure that her treatment would be delivered timely, promptly assess and address her physical and emotional needs and manage her distressing symptoms.

Susan Wolf addresses these questions an aim to bring out the distinctive characteristics of the reasons and motives that give our lives meaning. Wolf claims that "meaningful lives are laws of active engagement and projects of worth" (Wolf, 206). Suggesting that when a person is actively engaged in anything they feel alive and life is more worth living. Nevertheless, Wolf explains that neither religion or science is sufficient for leading a meaningful life, claiming that a life of passion could corrupt the pursuit of happiness if you decide to dedicate your life to how you feel. Suggesting that working toward some goal that is substantial than yourself, can be hard work if you don 't have any passion or connection to it. According to Wolf, the subjective element is necessary for a meaningful life and arises from active engagement in some activity that one loves. In addition, the passive attachment to objectively valuable things are not sufficient for meaning. The feeling of fulfillment originates when “one is doing what one loves, or when one is engaging in activities by which one is gripped or excited” (Wolf, 207).

My love for nursing began early in my life; in high school, my continuing desire to become a nurse resulted in my applying and being accepted to Midwestern State University. There, I received a BSN and became a registered nurse. My experience at Midwestern prepared me for a successful career by instilling confidence within me as I joined the workforce. As my experience grew and years went by, I became eager to further my education and pursue my master's degree. Then life happened: the two-legged version that requires love, compassion, energy, and time. Now that my child is in school, with the support of my family, I am ready and dedicated to become a family nurse practitioner.

The term “philosophy” means the love of wisdom, and those that study philosophy attempt to gain knowledge through rationality and reason. 1 Socrates, the father of ancient philosophy, once stated “the unexamined life is not worth living”. This is the most important part of life and it is need to find purpose and value in life. If a person chooses to live their life without examination, their life would lack value and they would be unhappy. They would also be ignorant to the effects of their choices on themselves and the people around them.

In life it is hard to know if the career chosen is the perfect fit. How does one know if he or she is going towards the right profession? Once I learned more about nursing and became a CNA I knew nursing was a good fit for myself. In this paper I will first, explain what brought me to the nursing profession then, the values of nursing and how they relate to my personal values and lastly, my personal goals and how they relate to nursing.

"The unexamined life is not worth living." (Apology, 41e) Socrates held this statement to himself to a point where he allowed the courts to take his life because they don’t want him to continue his quest of insights, questions and knowledge. The philosophy of Socrates as explained by Plato offers an important concept of what it means to live the examined life and what makes a life either examined or unexamined. The combination of Euthyphro, The Apology and the Republic help understand what Socrates means when he says that the unexamined life is not worth living, proving it what he believed, a valid statement. What Socrates means by an unexamined life, is we are just coasting through and not making any decisions or asking any questions. What Socrates means by living the examined life, that it’s logical when people are striving to know themselves and to understand our lives if they have any meaning or value to them. An examined life would be trying to understand your purpose of why you are here and what you are presently thinking. By examining your life, you therefore are understanding yourself and will not be subject to actions motivated by passion or instinct.Socrates uses examples defending his case about the unexamined life. “That is because I am so desirous of your wisdom, and I concentrate my mind on it, so that no word of yours may fall to the ground.” (Euthyphro, 18d) Socrates could not see a point in living if you were unable to ask questions and challenge your way

"An unexamined life is not worth living."  (Plato, trans. 1871, pa.68)   As Socrates stands against the court, on his final moments, he stands against his firm beliefs, and his insubordinate teachings.  He feels that it is his mission, by God, and his purpose, to seek for this truth within both himself, and other men.  It is often asked what makes life worth living?  In the eyes of Socrates, this 'unexamined life' is one who lives with ignorance, and is not willing to live through experiences, and constantly searches for the truth.  Both self-reflective and self-critical, they walk on a path that seeks for answers to the bigger (and sometimes smaller) questions.  The thirst for knowledge and, through examining his own life, encouraging and reflecting on others' lives, and being critical of those who do not examine their own, Socrates drew to the assumption that an unexamined life is certainly just not worth living.

b) "The unexamined life is not worth living", quoted Socrates. It appears that, following his brilliant logic, the key to "living philosophically" is exactly how one interprets and scrutinizes their own life in a philosophical context. As with the nature of philosophy itself, living philosophically is also ambiguous, and it could very well be that one lives "philosophically" even if they do not necessarily realize it. Take, for instance, a person who questions why humans and all life forms must die; or one who ponders their true meaning in life - are they not thinking philosophically? Regardless of whether or not they actually study philosophy, they are still critically thinking about the nature of being and existence in an interpretive, "between-the-lines" way. If they genuinely reach a conclusion about these topics, they can expand upon them by applying them towards real-world scenarios - in effect, they would truly live philosophically every day.