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
I prefer to be refuted than to refute, for it is a greater good for oneself to be freed from the greatest evil than to free another.
Interpretation
What this quote means
It is better to accept being proven wrong than to prove someone else wrong, as personal growth is more valuable.
Socrates emphasizes the importance of personal reflection and growth over the desire to win arguments. He suggests that being open to being refuted allows for self-improvement, which is ultimately a greater benefit than the act of proving someone else wrong, which may not lead to constructive outcomes.
Themes
WisdomGrowthTruthLearningSelf-Improvement
In practice
Example use cases
During a debate, I shared Socrates' perspective to encourage humility among participants.
More from Socrates
All quotes βThe poets are only the interpreters of the gods.
SocratesRead
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.
SocratesRead
The unexamined life is not worth living.
SocratesRead
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.
SocratesRead
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.
SocratesRead
Similar quotes
The question the doubter does not ask is whether faith was really useless or simply not used. What would you think of a boy who gave up learning to ride a bicycle, complaining that he hurt himself because his bicycle stopped moving so he had no choice but to fall off? If he wanted to sit comfortably while remaining stationary, he should not have chosen a bicycle but a chair. Similarly faith must be put to use, or it will become useless.
Os GuinnessRead
It is not the cares of today, but the cares of tomorrow, that weigh a man down. For the needs of today we have corresponding strength given. For the morrow we are told to trust. It is not ours yet. It is when tomorrow's burden is added to the burden of today that the weight is more than a man can bear.
George MacdonaldRead
There is only one time when it is essential to awaken. That time is now.
Gautama BuddhaRead
In many spheres of human endeavor, from science to business to education to economic policy, good decisions depend on good measurement.
Ben BernankeRead
If we humans are good at anything, itβs thinking weβve got a terrific idea and going for it without acknowledging the potential consequences or our own ignorance.
David SuzukiRead
So much the worse for those who fear wine, for it is because they have some bad thoughts which they are afraid the liquor will extract from their hearts.
Alexandre DumasRead