The Unexamined Life - Following The Herd

In 399 BC, the Greek philosopher Socrates was on trial - accused of a crime that carried the death penalty. To put it simply, he was charged with asking too many questions. Socrates was famous for confronting the people of Athens and peppering them with question after question. His goal was to make them reflect on the way they were living. Socrates believed it was wrong to blindly follow popular customs and beliefs. He challenged people to think carefully and deeply about fundamental questions of right and wrong. When he was warned that his incessant questions could earn him a death sentence, he defiantly declared he would never stop asking questions because the unexamined life is not worth living. In the end, a jury found Socrates guilty and sentenced him to death. But that wasn’t the end of the story, because Socrates didn’t have to die. After his trial, he had the right to appeal to have his sentence commuted from death to exile. In spite of the fervent pleas of his many friends and supporters, he refused to make an appeal. After that, some of his loyal friends offered the jailer a bribe to allow Socrates to escape and flee from Athens. Though his friends pleaded earnestly, Socrates refused that option as well. When the day came, he willingly drank the cup of hemlock, lay down, and died. He so loved his city and was so committed to his convictions, he was prepared to die before abandoning either one. Does Socrates’ response shock you? How many of us would rather die than live an unexamined life? Perhaps a better question is, how many of us live an examined life – one where we think carefully and deeply about what we believe, say and do? Sadly, most of us are like the people of Athens. We rarely examine our way of life and the assumptions behind it. Most of us, as we grow up, gradually acquire our beliefs and life-style from those around us. These things are to us as water is to a fish. If fish could think, I doubt they would spend much time thinking about water, and we spend little time thinking about the culture in which we live and move. Most of us simply follow our herd assuming there’s no other option. But what if the herd is leading us off a cliff? Wouldn’t it be a good idea to stop and ask some strategic questions and find out where we’re headed? What if there’s a better way? Maybe Socrates was right? Perhaps the unexamined life is not only not worth living but turns out, in the end, to be fatal.