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Socrates and the Examined Life

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Socrates of Athens held that the unexamined life is not worth living: beliefs deserve scrutiny before they deserve loyalty.

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Tried in 399 BCE for his relentless questioning, he chose death over abandoning philosophy. Plato's Apology records the defense.

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Socrates wrote nothing. Nearly everything we have arrives through Plato—so "Socrates" often means Plato's Socrates.