"A man should be concerned first of all with searching out and studying that which enables him to discern the good."
Something that I failed to discuss today in my surprise explanation of the story of Er, was the actual choice that men must make when choosing which life they will claim as their own. Socrates claims that "this moment of choice is the time of man's greatest peril." To that statement I think I would have to agree. This is the crucial tipping point where man makes a decision of what his fate in life will be without truly knowing the whole picture. Honestly, when I read this I could not help but feel relieved that we never have to face a decision of such magnitude.
However, I think that at this point in The Republic, Socrates would agree that there exists some form of standard or guideline by which this decision can be approached. "Fixing on the nature of his own soul, a man will call worse anything that brings the soul closer to injustice and better that which brings it closer to justice." He then goes on to say that this is the ultimate "choice as in life as in death." When I read this I couldn't help but think that this is actually incredibly profound advice for life. If we commit our life's work to pursuing that which is good, just, and true, I truly believe that this is how we as humans can make the most of our lives on earth, and as Socrates puts it "find his greatest happiness."
P.S. I commented on Michelle's "The Myth of Ur"
I'm glad we don't have to pick a life in this way either. Actually, we do 'pick' a way of life, but we are also able to choose to leave a bad life for a better one. I wonder if the people in this myth could make their life better with seeking the good, or if they were stuck as they were. Does this story give any opportunity for reformation while the person lives his life?
ReplyDeleteI feel like we do have to make a choice on what kind of life we will live, maybe not as a so called second life like in the myth, but we do make one. The choices we make Every day impact the life we lead, but thankfully as katelyn said we can leave a bad life for a good one...but the bad life we left is still behind us along with the consequences of that life. I agree with your last statement that we need to commit our lives to what is true and just that we will find our greatest happiness. But doesn't that also play into the choice of what kind of life we lead?
ReplyDeleteI enjoyed your impromptu explanation of the story of Er and I like the idea that you continued to develop in your blog. If a man is concerned with searching out and studying what enables him to discern the good then he will find happiness because his search will lead to God who is Joy. Since we were created to bring glory to God, we won't find fulfillment other than in choosing the life that follows Christ.
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