Quote by Socrates: “The unexamined life is not worth living.”

Simply existing — eating, working, sleeping — without ever asking why you are here or what you truly value is a kind of sleepwalking. Socrates believed that questioning yourself and your choices is what makes life genuinely human, not just animal survival.

Socrates spoke these words at his trial in Athens in 399 BCE, when he was condemned to death. Athens had recently lost the Peloponnesian War to Sparta and was in a period of political instability and wounded pride, making the city especially hostile to dissenting voices.

Athenian philosopher who lived 470–399 BCE and is considered one of the founders of Western philosophy. He wrote nothing himself; his ideas survive through his student Plato's dialogues. He was tried and executed by Athens for allegedly corrupting the youth and impiety.