The Meaning and Purpose of Life — Socrates and the Classical Greeks

The Meaning and Purpose of Life - Socrates & The “Classical” Greeks

I have decided to break down our examination of the approach to life by philosophers into a few sessions so that we can go into more depth. The first group of philosophers we can look at is Socrates and the other Greek philosophers of the “classical” period. The following are notes only, please read the direct sources if possible.

Socrates
What we know about Socrates largely comes to us from Plato's Apology, Crito and some other works which report the words of Socrates. We learn that above all, Socrates wanted to live a virtuous life:
“Wealth does not bring goodness, but goodness brings wealth and every other blessing.” (Apology)
“The really important thing is not to live, but to live well ... that to live well means the same thing as to live honourably or rightly” (Crito)
“No evil can happen to a good man, either in life or after death.” (Apology)
“We should not value living most, but living justly.” (Crito)

The good life is measured ethically, not hedonically. Socrates connects virtue with human flourishing — not pleasure, but a deep, stable well-being.

Wisdom, truth and the examined life are important to Socrates: “Are you not ashamed of caring so much for money and reputation and honour, when you neither care nor take thought for wisdom and truth and the best state of your soul?” (Apology) He argues that wrongdoing stems from ignorance. Understanding the good guides action and shapes a meaningful life: “No one goes willingly toward what he believes to be bad.” (Protagoras) So part of life’s purpose is inquiry: learning what justice, courage, moderation, and goodness really are. That’s why the examined life matters: “The unexamined life is not worth living for a human being.” (Apology)

Plato
It is difficult to disentangle Plato’s ideas from those of Socrates because the Apology was written by him, but we know from his other works that he thought the purpose of life involves achieving a balanced and well-ordered soul. Plato divided the soul into three parts: reason, spirit, and appetite. He argued that a good life requires these elements to be in harmony, with reason governing the other two. "He is just in virtue of the harmony which exists when all three elements of the mind perform their proper function" (Republic), with reason ruling, spirit supporting reason, and appetites being controlled. Justice, wisdom, courage, and temperance were the cardinal virtues that created this inner balance. When these parts work together properly, the soul achieves what Plato considered true happiness or flourishing. "The first and best victory is to conquer self" (Laws).

Like Socrates he thought that: "virtue is a kind of health, beauty and good habit of the soul" (Republic)

Plato On the Pursuit of the Good and Truth
Also like Socrates, he thought the ultimate aim is to achieve goodness and truth. He described aligning oneself with higher, universal truths which he called “eternal Forms” (Theory of Forms, in which he believes that physical reality is an imperfect set of shadows of perfect, higher, Forms). For example, there are countless tables in the world but the Form of "tableness" is at the core; it is the essence of all of them. The ultimate Form was the "Form of the good", which he saw as the source of all truth and being. In the Republic, Plato describes the philosopher's journey as ascending from darkness to light, arguing that those who reach understanding of the Forms have seen "the truth" and possess genuine knowledge rather than mere opinion. This is explained here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MgotDFs6cdE. He compares most people to prisoners in a cave, seeing only shadows of reality, while philosophers struggle to perceive things as they truly are. "In the world of knowledge, the realm of 'the Good' appears last of all and is seen only with effort ... it is the universal Cause of all things beautiful and right" (Republic).

He believed that every individual possesses an inherent, natural desire for justice and goodness. He argued that if people could find the courage to act upon this drive, they would inevitably become noble and virtuous. This conviction underscores why Plato viewed the cultivation of virtue as the essential foundation for a meaningful life. According to Plato, the 'good life' is achieved by living in harmony with one’s inner nature while seeking a deep understanding of the true nature of reality. To reach this state, an individual must master negative impulses, such as anger and greed, in order to fully embrace truth, knowledge, and the ultimate Form of the Good.

Becoming like the divine represents perhaps his most elevated vision. In dialogues like the Theaetetus, Plato suggests that the purpose of life is "becoming like god as far as possible" - which means becoming just and wise. This wasn't about religious worship but about perfecting one's rational nature. For Plato, these weren't abstract goals but practical ones. Philosophy itself - literally "love of wisdom" - was the path to achieving them.

In summary, Socrates and Plato believed that examination of truth and wisdom was the purpose of life. They expressed this in slightly differing ways, but the pursuit of wisdom - to the highest level - led to a good, virtuous, life and a harmonious soul.

Aristotle
Aristotle believed in a more practical wisdom he called phronesis. He thought that virtues are habits we cultivate through repeated practice that usually lie between extremes (the “Golden Mean”), e.g. courage lies between recklessness and cowardice. He also believed that happiness was achieved through eudaimonia - his term for the highest human good - and is best explained here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9zcJpDOjwtE and here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HaMdn9x8tkI.

Further Sources
This is a good explainer on the ideas of Socrates: https://youtu.be/Y4y2e4rUxfo?si=rMkvopWF82I6bFTb&t=151
Translations of Apology, Crito and other texts cited are abundant on the web.

Questions
Is modern man faced with similar dilemmas as man in the time of Socrates and Plato?
Do we agree with the following statements: “The primary task of a human being is moral self-care — not wealth, reputation, or power.” and “External success is secondary to the purpose of life; the condition of the soul is primary”.
What do we understand from the statement "the only true wisdom is knowing that you know nothing"?
Is there a danger in leading an examined life? Can we become too introspective and lacking in action?
To what extent are the goals of these philosophers idealistic? Socrates said at his trial: "And on the other hand, if I say that this even happens to be a very great good for a human being—to make speeches every day about virtue and the other things about which you hear me conversing and examining both myself and others". Can we apply them to our lives or were they just the preoccupations of a few?
Can we master our anger and greed, as Plato suggests?
To what extent is Aristotle correct that we are unhappy if we deviate from our true life and purpose? Do we agree that "Being good at being a person means being a good person"? How do we determine what is true to us? Can we determine what is good for us? Why do so many people clearly deviate from this path, and can think of examples?