Socrates told us, "the unexamined life is not worth living." I think he's calling for curiosity, more than knowledge. In every human society at all times and at all levels, the curious are at the leading edge.
Interpretation
Curiosity and self-reflection are essential for a meaningful life.
In this quote, Roger Ebert reflects on Socrates' assertion that an unexamined life lacks value. He emphasizes the importance of curiosity and introspection, suggesting that those who actively seek understanding and question their existence lead more fulfilling lives. Ebert implies that engaging with the world through a curious mindset allows individuals to grow and contribute meaningfully to society.
In practice
During a graduation speech to inspire students to seek knowledge.
Vincent Gallo has put a curse on my colon and a hex on my prostate. He called me a 'fat pig' in the New York Post and told the New York Observer I have 'the physique of a slave-trader.' He is angry at me because I said his 'The Brown Bunny' was the worst movie in the history of the Cannes Film Festival... _x000D_ it is true that I am fat, but one day I will be thin, and he will still be the director of 'The Brown Bunny.'
I was born inside the movie of my life. The visuals were before me, the audio surrounded me, the plot unfolded inevitably but not necessarily. I don't remember how I got into the movie, but it continues to entertain me.
Why do alcoholics begin down the same hazardous road day after day? They are in search of that elusive window of well-being that opens when you drink your way out of a hangover and aren't yet drunk all over again. The alcoholic's day consists of trying to keep that window open.
There are no guarantees. But there is also nothing to fear. We come from oblivion when we are born. We return to oblivion when we die. The astonishing thing is this period of in-between.
Parents and schools should place great emphasis on the idea that it is all right to be different. Racism and all the other 'isms' grow from primitive tribalism, the instinctive hostility against those of another tribe, race, religion, nationality, class or whatever. You are a lucky child if your parents taught you to accept diversity.
In the best of all possible worlds, directors would obsess about the quality of their storytelling, and not the details of their technical methods.
When did the future switch from being a promise to a threat?
Man must be arched and buttressed from within, else the temple wavers to the dust.
Leisure is not synonymous with time. Nor is it a noun. Leisure is a verb. I leisure. You leisure.
How we think about the world and - perhaps even more importantly - how we narrate it have a massive significance, therefore, a thing that happens and is not told ceases to exist and perishes.
His lifetime was less than a fraction of a second in infinity. Or maybe he did not even exist; maybe human beings, the planets, everything in Creation were a dream...an illusion. He smiled with humility when he remembered.
Forgiveness is the only way to reverse the irreversible flow of history.
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