Socrates insisted that for a moral person, death was a good thing and should be welcomed. Suicide was wrong, he added, because men and women are the property of the immortal gods, and as such should not be harmed intentionally because this was an attack on the property of others.

King Solomon

Evidence that Socrates does not actually claim to know nothing can be found at Apology 29b-c, where he claims twice to know something. That said, in the Apology, Plato relates that Socrates accounts for his seeming wiser than any other person because he does not imagine that he knows what he does not know.

‘ While his defence in the Apology was already audacious, Socrates’ closing speech appears even more provocative. Among other things, he declares that he has no reason to fear death, but that, on the contrary, the death penalty he received only moments before may well be considered a blessing.

In the Apology of Socrates, Plato cites no total numbers of votes condemning or acquitting the philosopher of the accusations of moral corruption and impiety; Socrates says that he would have been acquitted if thirty more jurors had voted in his favour.

Socrates statement “The unexamined life is not worth living”, is an exaggeration and is predominantly false but does have a degree of truth to it. But with this statement, Socrates promotes the idea that people who don’t examine their lives should not live.

38a; my emphasis). On the common interpretation, then, the examined life is a life characterised by moral self-examination. On this rendering of it Socrates asserts that there is no greater good than moral self-examination and that a life which is not morally self-examined is so bad that it is not worth living.

Platonism. Plato, a pupil of Socrates, was one of the earliest, most influential philosophers. In Platonism, the meaning of life is in attaining the highest form of knowledge, which is the Idea (Form) of the Good, from which all good and just things derive utility and value.

Protagoras

Studying philosophy promotes intellectual and psychological growth, yet it also develops capabilities prized by most employers and needed by our increasingly global society. The Philosophy major prepares students for a wide variety of careers by imparting knowledge and skills that are valuable to almost all employers.

It teaches critical thinking, close reading, clear writing, and logical analysis; it uses these to understand the language we use to describe the world, and our place within it. These are philosophical questions, and philosophy teaches the ways in which we might begin to answer them.

Philosophy is the foundation of critical thinking. Philosophy brings the important questions to the table and works towards an answer. It encourages us to think critically about the world; it is the foundation of all knowledge and when utilized properly, can provide us with huge benefits.”

The Importance of Truth. Truth matters, both to us as individuals and to society as a whole. As individuals, being truthful means that we can grow and mature, learning from our mistakes. For society, truthfulness makes social bonds, and lying and hypocrisy break them.

The study of philosophy enhances your ability to evaluate and resolve problems. It will help you to analyze concepts, definitions, arguments, and problems. It contributes to your capacity to organize ideas and issues, to deal with questions of value, and to extract what is essential from masses of information.