Socrates didn't mean that people have no value, or should be executed if they lived unexamined lives. According to Plato, Socrates’ friend, Chaerophon, went to the Pythia to ask who was the wisest of men. The quote: "The unexamined life is not worth living." Plato was credited with the quote, "An unexamined life is not worth living", in this column. : The examination in life is the evaluation of the events of the present, past and/or the future. Unexamined definition is - not subjected to examination (such as critical scrutiny, analysis, or comparison) : not carefully weighed or examined. You are probably referring to his statement, "The unexamined life is not worth living." Socrates is attributed with these words after choosing death rather than exile from Athens or a commitment to silence. Socrates once said “The unexamined life is not worth living”. According to Jamison, not only is an unexamined life worth living; the rigorous examination of life should not be encouraged due to its possible negative effects on the participants and the entire society. Socrates once said “The unexamined life is not worth living”. — translation of Socrates, as quoted in Plato's Apology. It means that the assumptions we make about life don't help us. The claim is that only in striving to come to know ourselves and to understand ourselves do our lives have any meaning or value. What did Socrates mean when he said "an unexamined life is not worth living" I'm taking an intro to philosophy class and I'm having a hard time wrapping my head around this. This quote, from the son of a sculptor, and his profound thoughts, is one of many that modern-day philosophy is based on. "The unexamined life is not worth living" Posted by ESC on November 10, 2002. An Unexamined Life Is Not Worth Living The Greek philosopher Socrates had a strong sense of the value of a virtuous life. The widely known ancient Greek philosopher Socrates once said: “the unexamined life is not worth living for men.”. In a way, It might be a better translation to say "the unexamined world is not worth living in". The widely known ancient Greek philosopher Socrates once said: “the unexamined life is not worth living for men.” Notice that the philosopher was restricting this to men; in fact, the ancient Greek society was too sexist at the time, so much that women had a status slightly higher than that of slaves. Notice that the philosopher was restricting this to men; in fact, the ancient Greek society was too sexist at the time, so much that women had a status slightly higher than that of slaves. Not worth living in the respect that it's not worth the effort of maintaining some idea of who you are or what something "outside" of you is.