Socrates famously declared that ‘the unexamined life is not worth living.’ It is one of the most quoted classical sayings outside the Bible, but it is followed less than it is quoted. And if Socrates is correct, it would mean that many people, even highly educated people, are leading lives that are not worth living. They simply have not thought enough or cared enough to think for themselves about the meaning of life. They have not examined such big questions as the nature of the universe, their own identity and purpose, a foundation for deciding about right and wrong, the prospects for humanity, which worldview makes the best sense of it all, and so on.

from Fool’s Talk