The Examined Life: Socrates, Plato, and Philosophical Inquiry

This report delves into the core tenets of philosophy, with a specific focus on the philosophies of Socrates and Plato. It begins by defining the examined life, contrasting it with the unexamined life, and highlighting the importance of questioning and critical thinking. The report explores the allegory of the cave as a metaphor for the transition from ignorance to enlightenment, emphasizing the role of self-reflection and the development of knowledge. It further outlines the methods employed by Socrates, including systematic questioning and reasoning, to encourage individuals to examine their lives. The report also discusses the benefits of philosophical inquiry, such as the ability to assess the attributes of one's life and challenge assumptions. The report draws on the work of Lahav (2016) to provide a comprehensive overview of these philosophical concepts.

Running Head: WHAT IS PHILOSOPHY
What is Philosophy?
Name of the Student
Name of the University
Author Notes

1WHAT IS PHILOSOPHY?
Objective One
As per the suggestion of the philosophers like Socrates, the examined life has been
defined as the ability of a particular person to raise question about the aspects those are
present around the person instead of living the life with the ideals of the others. On the other
hand the unexamined life simply emphasizes a form of life where the importance is ascribed
to the societal notion (Lahav, 2016).
Objective Two
The allegory of the cave has acted as a pivotal point in explaining the examined life as
suggested by Plato. It has acted as a great metaphor of all time to create a divide between the
ignorance and the enlightenment (Lahav, 2016).
Objective Three
Ways to transform the unexamined way of living to an unexamined one
1. The knowledge about oneself should be developed
2. The life should be led in the moment to provide attention towards the crucial details
3. The assumption in relevance to certain aspects should be given away
4. The sense of inadequacy should not be overpowered by the fear over potential
5. The firmness of the perception should be countered by the flexibility (Lahav, 2016)
Objective Four
The method as they have been deployed by Socratic included the aspect of
questioning in a systematic nature, induce reasoning in that process and define the attributes
from a universal perspective (Lahav, 2016).
Objective Five

2WHAT IS PHILOSOPHY?
Questioning has a crucial aspect in terms of the human life as it allows the individual
to judge the attributes of the life that they have acquired in the course of their life (Lahav,
2016).

3WHAT IS PHILOSOPHY?
References
Lahav, R. (2016). Stepping Out of Plato's Cave. Lulu Press, Inc.