QUOTE

“The unexamined life is not worth living.”

--Socrates,
399 BCE

Socratic Method

“The first person who thought of saying ‘This is mine’ was the real founder of civil society.”

“The sad truth is that most evil is done by people who never make up their minds to be either good or evil.”

“Reality is self-creating by definition… our impressions of it are what we use to build knowledge.”

Is the serenity prayer stoic? “Grant me the serenity…”

“For the soul is dyed the color of its thoughts.”

Mike's Takeaway:

Socrates taught that self-reflection brought knowledge, which in turn brought meaning. I think he wanted you to uncover the truth, no matter what it is, reconcile it with your beliefs, and make sense of it in a way that is consistent with common knowledge.

Quote context: Said at his trial in 399 BCE.

Source: Plato

Current Reference: Book “30 Philosophers”, chapter 1, Prestwood.

From chapter 1 of 30 Philosophers: A New Look at Timeless Ideas by Mike Prestwood:

…let’s explore the origin of our first translated quote. This will set up an exploration of your personal language later in Chapter 7. The literal translation from long ago, in a much different world, is something like, “But the unexamined life is not lived by man.” Scholars render it today as, “The unexamined life is not worth living,” but it could also translate to, “For a human being, a life without introspection is not truly lived,” or more succinctly, “Life without reflection is not fulfilling.” This underscores that quotes originate from the mind of a specific person in a specific culture with their own contextual background and origin story.

Get the book!

Nothing is better than reading the full story of human thought over the last 5,000 years. This quote was first used in chapter 1 which sets up the story of human thought and first introduces how a healthy skeptical attitude can help you live a better life. A concept explored in depth in chapter 10 on Pyrrho of Elis and his version of skepticism.

30 Philosophers: A New Look at Timeless Ideas

By Michael Alan Prestwood

Immerse yourself in knowledge, not snippets. Pure inspiration from cover to cover. Dive deeper than headlines and memes and explore the minds of the greatest thinkers.

The story of
humanity’s 80 BEST IDEAS,
and the 30 GIANTS
behind them!

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About Socrates

Socrates was a Greek philosopher and is frequently credited as the founder of Western philosophy. He left no writings, but his student Plato documented his philosophy.

Some of my favorite translated sayings attributed to Socrates:

Enjoy yourself — it’s later than you think.
He who is not content with what they have will not be content with more.
Do not praise someone wealthy until you known how they employ it.
We should hear and see more than we speak.
False words are not only evil in themselves, but they infect the soul with evil.
He is rich who is content with the least.
Once made equal to man, woman becomes his superior.

Analysis By Michael Alan Prestwood

03 Mar 2026

Published 2 years ago.

Updated 2 weeks ago.

Michael Alan Prestwood
Author & Natural Philosopher

Prestwood writes on science-first philosophy, with particular attention to the convergence of disciplines. Drawing on his TST Framework, his work emphasizes rational inquiry grounded in empirical observation while engaging questions at the edges of established knowledge. With TouchstoneTruth positioned as a living touchstone, this work aims to contribute reliable, evolving analysis in an emerging AI era where the credibility of information is increasingly contested.