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Was it Socrates who first said we should all question authority?
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August 1, 2009

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Nicholas D. Smith
August 20, 2009 (changed August 20, 2009) Permalink

Socrates said that "the unexamined life is not worth living for a human being" (Plato, Apology 38a) and plainly applied that maxim in questioning everyone he encountered, often those in positions of authority (see Plato, Apology 21b-e). As far as I know, he never expicitly said "question authority," but as I say, he certainly lived as if this was one of his beliefs.

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