A Conversation About Self Knowledge Essay Plato, Knowledge, Understan

In Alcibiades I, Socrates argues that a person’s self is their soul and their bodies just protect it. Socrates and Alcibiades came to the conclusion that â€Å"What was said just now in pretty much these terms, that first the self itself must be investigated. Now instead of it we were investigating what each individual is. And perhaps this will suffice. For there’s nothing, I suppose that we would say is more authoritative over us than the soul,† (48d). Humans need to firs self and the oracle was that it was to my advantage to be as I am,† (22e). This angered many people because he challenged the idea that â€Å"†¦human wisdom is worth little or nothing†¦,† (23a). Human wisdom is essential to living a life of excellence because if a person does not truly know themselves, what is the point? There is a friend of mine that has self-knowledge but she is aware that sometimes people may not agree because they may not have that same knowledge she has. She also knows when she does not know about something. That is when she either seeks help from others or discovers it herself. Socrates argues in the Apology that not doing philosophy is unjust in the sense that people are living a life unexamined and are going through the motions. Self-knowledge is an essential part of a person’s life because living a life unexamined may lead to an unfulfilling life.