Philosophy Essay Project
Write a 2-4 page essay (in Word or rich text format, double spaced, size 12 font) on one of the following topics.
1. In the Euthyphro does Socrates present his own account of piety or just destroy the accounts offered by Euthyphro? If so what is his account of piety?
2. What are the charges against Socrates as recorded in the Apology. Is he guilty of them? why or why not?
3.What is Socrates’ argument against Crito in the argument of the same name? Is it persuasive? why or why not?
4. What would it mean to persuade the laws as it is described in the Crito? Does Socrates’ account adequately allow for resisting evil legislation or is it essentially just a way to maintain the status quo?
5. Discuss the nature of virtue in the Meno and/ or Phaedo. If you choose the Meno things you should mention are some of Meno’s definitions of virtue and their objections and whether virtue is teachable or not. If you choose the Phaedo things you mention things you should mention are the difference between true and false virtue.
6. At the end of the Meno Socrates says that it will be a benefit to the Athenians if Meno can convince Anytus of the conclusions they’ve reached in the dialogue (cf. 100a-b); given your reading of the Apology and Anytus’s role there what lesson learned in the Meno could be of benefit to Anytus and Meletus?
7. Discuss Plato’s arguments for recollection in the Meno; what puzzle is recollection supposed to solve?
8. At Phaedo 86a-d Simmias puts forward the view that the soul is a sort of harmony. Socrates provides at least two arguments against this view of the soul in the text that follows. Describe his arguments and explain why you think they are convincing or not.
9. Explain Socrates’ arguments against Cebes’s objection that the soul is long-lasting but not immortal (Phaedo (95c ff)); are they persuasive? why or why not?
10.Compare and contrast any two (or three) of the five dialogues we have studied one of the dialogues must be either the Meno or the Phaedo; make sure to refer to the text by title and line number and cite any secondary sources used.
Cite all sources with quotation marks for direct quotes and parenthetical references. Don’t place urls in the body of your paper; cite online sources by author’s name or article title. Place urls at the end of the paper in the work cited page. Every student is encouraged to submit drafts of papers to Upswing the online tutoring service for assistance with composition and proofreading.Write an essay 2-5 pages typed, double-spaced, citing primary texts in the following way (Euthyphro 10b) and academic secondary sources such as the Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy.
ADDITIONAL INSTRUCTIONS FOR THE CLASS
Discussion Questions (DQ)
- Initial responses to the DQ should address all components of the questions asked, include a minimum of one scholarly source, and be at least 250 words.
- Successful responses are substantive (i.e., add something new to the discussion, engage others in the discussion, well-developed idea) and include at least one scholarly source.
- One or two sentence responses, simple statements of agreement or “good post,” and responses that are off-topic will not count as substantive. Substantive responses should be at least 150 words.
- I encourage you to incorporate the readings from the week (as applicable) into your responses.
Weekly Participation
- Your initial responses to the mandatory DQ do not count toward participation and are graded separately.
- In addition to the DQ responses, you must post at least one reply to peers (or me) on three separate days, for a total of three replies.
- Participation posts do not require a scholarly source/citation (unless you cite someone else’s work).
- Part of your weekly participation includes viewing the weekly announcement and attesting to watching it in the comments. These announcements are made to ensure you understand everything that is due during the week.
APA Format and Writing Quality
- Familiarize yourself with APA format and practice using it correctly. It is used for most writing assignments for your degree. Visit the Writing Center in the Student Success Center, under the Resources tab in LoudCloud for APA paper templates, citation examples, tips, etc. Points will be deducted for poor use of APA format or absence of APA format (if required).
- Cite all sources of information! When in doubt, cite the source. Paraphrasing also requires a citation.
- I highly recommend using the APA Publication Manual, 6th edition.
Use of Direct Quotes
- I discourage overutilization of direct quotes in DQs and assignments at the Masters’ level and deduct points accordingly.
- As Masters’ level students, it is important that you be able to critically analyze and interpret information from journal articles and other resources. Simply restating someone else’s words does not demonstrate an understanding of the content or critical analysis of the content.
- It is best to paraphrase content and cite your source.
LopesWrite Policy
- For assignments that need to be submitted to LopesWrite, please be sure you have received your report and Similarity Index (SI) percentage BEFORE you do a “final submit” to me.
- Once you have received your report, please review it. This report will show you grammatical, punctuation, and spelling errors that can easily be fixed. Take the extra few minutes to review instead of getting counted off for these mistakes.
- Review your similarities. Did you forget to cite something? Did you not paraphrase well enough? Is your paper made up of someone else’s thoughts more than your own?
- Visit the Writing Center in the Student Success Center, under the Resources tab in LoudCloud for tips on improving your paper and SI score.
Late Policy
- The university’s policy on late assignments is 10% penalty PER DAY LATE. This also applies to late DQ replies.
- Please communicate with me if you anticipate having to submit an assignment late. I am happy to be flexible, with advance notice. We may be able to work out an extension based on extenuating circumstances.
- If you do not communicate with me before submitting an assignment late, the GCU late policy will be in effect.
- I do not accept assignments that are two or more weeks late unless we have worked out an extension.
- As per policy, no assignments are accepted after the last day of class. Any assignment submitted after midnight on the last day of class will not be accepted for grading.
Communication
- Communication is so very important. There are multiple ways to communicate with me:
- Questions to Instructor Forum: This is a great place to ask course content or assignment questions. If you have a question, there is a good chance one of your peers does as well. This is a public forum for the class.
- Individual Forum: This is a private forum to ask me questions or send me messages. This will be checked at least once every 24 hours.
Philosophy Essay Project
Philosophy Essay Project
