I chose to read this book because I was moved by his classic saying - "The unexamined life is not worth living." I found that I knew very little about the person who said it. "The Apology of Socrates" was written by Plato, Socrates' most famous disciple. Plato, his teacher Socrates, and his student Aristotle were known as the "Three Sages of Ancient Greece" and were honored by later generations as the founder of Western philosophy. who.
? This book records that Socrates was prosecuted by fellow Greek citizens for not believing in the gods of the city-state and corrupting the youth. He gave a wonderful speech to defend himself in court.
? The cause of this famous defense was that the Oracle of Delphi said that Socrates was the wisest man in the world. He himself expressed surprise. He felt that he was ignorant. God said that there was no one else. Smarter than he is, may be mistaken.
In order to verify the correctness of the oracle, Socrates visited all the people who had the name of "wisdom" at that time, and he held discussions with all kinds of people. In the end, I was disappointed to find that the more intelligent people are recognized and respected by people, the more ignorant they are. Even those who are proficient in a certain craft will fall into new ignorance if they leave their area of ??expertise and talk about things outside the familiar range.
After some examination, Socrates finally understood: The reason why God said that he was wiser than other people was because he was the only one who knew that he was ignorant. This is Socrates' famous saying The theory of "knowledge through ignorance".
Socrates loved to use "rhetorical questions" to guide those who had the reputation of wisdom to verify their answers step by step. In the end, it often made it difficult for them to justify themselves, and they were unable to step down after their ignorance was exposed. Many people The young people watching then followed his example and began to test other people's opinions. Those who had been stripped of the mask of wisdom held a grudge for this, which inspired the Greek people to protest and dissatisfy Socrates.
In 399 BC, a man named Anytus took Socrates to court. Facing the trial, Socrates calmly used his strict logic and powerful argumentation skills to make a classic defense. He said that even if he died, he would not change his way of life. His attitude completely angered the jury members, who collectively voted to execute this seventy-year-old man who was praised by God as the wisest.
Socrates sacrificed his life for the philosophical ideals he pursued throughout his life. In this famous defense, he left many thought-provoking classic philosophical quotes: "The only thing I know is I know nothing”, “The unexamined life is not worth living”, “The time of separation has come, we will each go our own way, I will die, you continue to live, which way is better, only God Only then will we know."
Saying goodbye without hesitation is just to remind people not to be too complacent. Only by examining more, reflecting more, and constantly searching can we lead ourselves to the door of wisdom, and this is also the way people live. The true meaning and value that should be pursued.
The biggest advantage of reading philosophy books is that it can help you temporarily clarify the appearance of tedious life, and have the opportunity to gain a brief glimpse of your own spiritual world. The most difficult thing for people is to recognize themselves. The many experiences in life will not only shape our cognition, but also easily solidify our cognition. What traps us in ignorance is often the existing cognition that is difficult for us to detect.
If we want to get out of our own cognitive limitations, the "rhetorical questioning method" adopted by this ancient sage provides us with an effective way. Asking ourselves a few more "whys" in everything, and trying to keep questioning in a question-and-answer manner may help us find the real answer.
People grow by reflection. Only by admitting one's ignorance is the beginning of wisdom. Only by observing our life with an introspective mind and constantly reviewing it can we maintain an open, flexible and sharp brain to absorb and embrace more new things, and understand the true meaning of happiness in our own life.