Plato And Emerson Self Reliance Analysis

In Plato’s Apology and Emerson’s Self-Reliance, they both talk about the idea of becoming an independent thinker. Emerson claims that people should break away from the conventionality of society, and become independent people who trust themselves to get their power. In the Apology, Socrates claims that he would not have changed anything about the way he lived his life because he relied on himself and his daimon for his knowledge and understanding of the world. While I agree with Plato and Emerson about self-reliance, I claim that I should avoid conforming to society so that I don’t need to worry about what others think because I can choose to follow my own wants and beliefs. Throughout the essay, it is clear that Emerson wants people to become …show more content…
“Another sort of false prayers are our regrets. Discontent is the want of self-reliance: it is infirmity of will. Regret calamities, if you can thereby help the sufferer; if not, attend your own work, and already the evil begins to be repaired” (Emerson 16). By this, Emerson is saying that people who are unhappy with their lives depend on others for satisfaction, but aren’t satisfied, and when people suffer, their life gets worse because they cannot think positive, they only think about their sufferings. On the other hand, when people become self-reliant, their condition improves and suffering is reduced. I agree with Emerson’s ideas about self-reliance, and I say that self-reliance is a necessity of life, and without it, people are lost. Self-reliance leads to a less stressful life because people don’t need to worry about impressing or reaching the standards of other people. The stress which self-reliance relieves helps a person feel better, and helps future generations succeed in life. As a person becomes more self-reliant, he is able to better help and teach others necessary principles to live a better life while being self-reliant. The teaching of self-reliance allows more people to live a better, independent life without worrying about fitting in with the beliefs and expectations of others. The relief of stress through self-reliance is seen in the world of education. When students try to fit in with their peers, they put a lot of pressure on themselves to be like the popular people. When students stop trying to fit in and rely on themselves for the decisions they make, the students don’t need to worry about the implications caused by impressing