The Good Life Plato s Apology And Emerson s Self Reliance

The Good Life In Plato’s Apology and Emerson’s Self Reliance, the belief of the definition of a good life expresses in both pieces. In Apology, Plato tells a scene about a philosopher Socrates who is held for trial because his accusers accuse him of being an evil-doer, claim that he corrupts the youth, and a curious person who makes the worse appear better. Socrates of course disagrees with the accusers and claims that his accuser’s aren’t wise and are investing their time by spreading rumors of what is wrong with him rather than fixing themselves by feeding their souls with knowledge. Similarly in Emerson’s Self Reliance, Emerson expresses his ideas on how a wise individual should devote their life into trusting themselves with their knowledge and not go with what the majority believe in. Although Socrates states that the unwise are the ones who assume they are wise can contradict with Emerson’s idea in believing in yourself because too muc h faith can lead to ignorance by not taking in more knowledge that’s around you, I claim that Socrates agrees with Emerson’s notion of self- reliance which leads to the good life because both talk about pursuing the good life means to pursue knowledge. Ignorance tends to play a big role when it comes to claiming knowledge. Often times people think that the amount of knowledge they have is enough and that it is unnecessary to expand it. In regard to people who think they know something when they don’t, Socrates says, â€Å"For they do notShow MoreRelatedPlato s Apology And Ralph Waldo Emerson s On Self Reliance1559 Words   |  7 PagesThrough Plato’s Apology and Ralph Waldo Emerson’s â€Å"Self-Reliance† both contend that living an unexamined life is living a life of ignorance and futility. On the other hand, living an examined life is living an enlightened life full of intelligence. I agree with Plato and Emerson’s similar ideas t hat without knowledge, life as it is, is not worth living. They both argue that having personal beliefs creates an intelligent society. Having knowledge allows for one to set goals and objectives to achieveRead MoreCleanth Brookss Essay Irony as a Principle of Structure9125 Words   |  37 PagesMarx’s system. On the contrary, our underlying premise here is the belief that in Marx’s theory and method the true method by which to understand society and history has finally been discovered. This method is historical through and through. It is self-evident, therefore, that it must be constantly applied to itself, and this is one of the focal points of these essays. At the same time this entails taking up a substantive position with regard to the urgent problems of the present; for according to