A system of morality that is based on relative emotional values is a mere illusion, a thoroughly vulgar conception that has nothing sound in it and nothing true.
SocratesRead
To fear death, my friends, is only to think ourselves wise, without being wise: for it is to think that we know what we do not know. For anything that men can tell, death may be the greatest good that can happen to them: but they fear it as if they knew quite well that it was the greatest of evils. And what is this but that shameful ignorance of thinking that we know what we do not know?
Interpretation
What this quote means
Fearing death stems from a misunderstanding of what it truly is, as we often mistake our ignorance for knowledge.
In this quote, Socrates expresses the idea that the fear of death arises from the false belief that we understand its nature. He suggests that it reflects a shameful ignorance, as individuals assume they know whether death is good or evil, when in fact, the truth about death remains unknown. This highlights the need for humility and the recognition that there are things beyond our comprehension.
Themes
DeathFearIgnoranceKnowledgePhilosophy
In practice
Example use cases
In a discussion on mortality in a philosophy class, one might reference this quote to highlight the significance of understanding death.
More from Socrates
All quotes →The poets are only the interpreters of the gods.
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I am wiser than this man, for neither of us appears to know anything great and good; but he fancies he knows something, although he knows nothing; whereas I, as I do not know anything, so I do not fancy I do. In this trifling particular, then, I appear to be wiser than he, because I do not fancy I know what I do not know.
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The unexamined life is not worth living.
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When I was young, I believed that life might unfold in an orderly way, according to my hopes and expectations. But now I understand that the Way winds like a river, always changing, ever onward.. My journeys revealed that the Way itself creates the warrior; that every path leads to peace, every choice to wisdom. And that life has always been, and will always be, arising in Mystery.
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Not life, but good life, is to be chiefly valued." "It is not living that matters, but living rightly. The unexamined life is not worth living.
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