1.

Philosophizing reveals the extent of our ignorance, how

our beliefs about reality are given to us by our context.
Philosophy, the love of wisdom, reveals the nature of
human wisdom as humility and as a continuing task.
Thus Socrates claims that the unexamined life is no
kind of human life.

I. Philosophizing reveals the extent of our ignorance,

how our beliefs about reality are given to us by
our context.
a. The Apology of Socrates was written by Plato
during the post-Peloponnesian war period in
Athens.
b. Philosophizing is the act of questioning and
examining the things that we take for granted
in life. We see this in how Socrates questions
almost every individual that he meets.
c. Philosophizing whenever that person couldnt
articulate anymore of what hes talking about,
or when he starts contradicting himself reveals
ignorance of a person. This causes the person
to feel irritated and vulnerable.
d. Our feelings of irritation and vulnerability come
about because as our ignorance rubs into our
face, we realize that we dont really know what
we know. This is because our beliefs about
reality are shaped by the context that we are
in.
i. The Athenians realized that they didnt
really know what they knew. Socrates
made them realize this and thus resulted
in Socrates being a persona non grata in
Greek society. The Athenians after the
war, having regained democracy, is trying
to bring back itself to its old position of

glory, however the war and the Rule of the

Thirty changed the Athenians, they have
lost their sense of identity and the
foundations that hold them together. Thus,
the Athenians are now in a different
context, which in turn reshaped their
beliefs of reality we see Socrates
pointing out that the Athenians worry
about money and power, and not the
Truth, and excellence which Athens was
supposedly known for.
II. Philosophy, the love of wisdom, reveals the nature
of human wisdom as humility and as a continuing
task.
a. Wisdom in the context of the Apology is
humility in the face of Truth. This is done by
accepting and admitting our own ignorance.
Basically, knowing what we dont know =
humility in the face of knowledge and Truth.
b. However, the act of accepting ones own
ignorance doesnt constitute wisdom already.
Wisdom is accepting ones own ignorance and
having the capacity and the ability to act on it.
c. Human wisdom only captures such little
knowledge, Socrates points out that human
wisdom is nothing in relation to the Truth.
Every time we know more about something, we
realize that we have known so much less and
that theres still more to know. This is why we
say that wisdom is not only humility, but also a
continuing task. We have to strive to learn
more.

III.

The unexamined life is no kind of human life.

a. To live an unexamined life means to live no

kind of human life, Socrates concludes. Why?

Because to Socrates, to be human means to
have the capacity to examine oneself. And to
examine oneself means to look deeper at the
things that we take for granted, and keep on
going for something that has greater value. To
push for excellence!
b. Socratess death