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Philosophy

Term Paper Title Philosophy
# of Words 512
# of Pages (250 words per page double spaced) 2.05

Philosophy

     Is your life worth living? Why? Many of the greatest              
philosophers of all time ask these questions in many forms,
two of which I intend to talk about here: What is the
connection between Socrates’ challenge to examine ourselves,
and Plato’s Allegory of the Cave, and is bettering ourselves
desirable and obtainable for the common man, or just for an
intellectual elite.
     First off, what is the connection between Socrates
challenge and Plato’s Allegory? I believe it is that both
feel we should better ourselves by asking questions about
ourselves and the world around us, and only by doing this
can we ever hope to even begin to start to answer the big
questions. After all, Socrates himself said that “The
unexamined life is not worth living.” There are, however,
some significant differences between how this idea is
presented. I think Plato, in the Allegory, is trying
communicate this in an very vague, intellectual way.
Socrates, on the other hand is very clear: Examine
yourselves and your lives. Even the simplest person can
understand this and attempt it.
     Next, is this even possible for the common man? I say
it is, for one very simple reason. Common man is just that:
common, not a philosopher. But is this the way is has to be?
I think not. Because if a common man is able to grasp
certain concepts such as beauty, or even faith, he is able
to grasp most, if not all of philosophy if he simply wants
to. As for the people who don’t want to, it’s those people
who I pity. For if a person says: “Oh, who needs that
anyway? The only thing you need to get...

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