FIRST ESSAY ASSIGNMENT:

TOPICS:

For your essay choose one from the following topics:

A) Contracts. Socrates decides not to escape from the prison because – according to the Speech of the Laws – he has an agreement with them and escaping from prison would breach this just agreement. Do you have an agreement with your state? If your answer is yes, in what respects it would be similar to the agreement Socrates had with his city and in what respects would it differ? Would your agreement require you to accept a punishment even if you are innocent? Why or why not? If your answer to the question whether or not you have an agreement with your state is no, then why? Why are you obliged to obey to the laws of the state? Would you accept an unjust punishment in such circumstances?

B) Self Knowledge. Philosophical conversations, like the ones Socrates had with Crito and with Euthyphro, give chance to the participants of a better understanding of themselves. Consider how much the characters learned about themselves and how much they missed. Assess the significance of such self knowledge and the relevance of the dialogues in achieving it. Consider also how much you learned about yourself!

C) Although Apology and Crito tell two different episodes of the same story (“The Last Days of Socrates”), these two dialogues differ and even contradict to each other in certain respects. Most notably they differ about Socrates’ attitude towards the laws and obeying to the city. Compare and contrast the two dialogues and try to explain why such a tension or contradiction between the two dialogues is only apparent.

DEADLINE: Thursday, October 2, 2003

LATE DEADLINE (with significant penalty): Tuesday, October 7, 2003

NO ESSAY WILL BE ACCEPTED AFTER THE LATE DEADLINE!

Formal requirements:

Your essay should be about 2-3double spaced pages, typed with 12 point characters, having 1” margin all about (these are just general guidelines)

There is no penalty for length per se, but papers exceeding 4 double-spaced pages of text (about 1200 words) will be penalized, if they could have been shortened by careful editing. (Footnotes may appear on a separate page.)

Give a title to your essay on its first page. Don’t add/use title page or cover. Make clear in the heading of your paper the topic you selected.

You might consult secondary sources, though it is neither required nor necessary. Concentrate on the texts you read for classes!

CITE FULLY AND ACCURATELY. Make sure you accurately state the position of any author you discuss. Any time you quote an author or attribute a proposition to an author, the quotation or attribution must be supported by a citation to the text, with page numbers. YOU MAY NOT CITE ME AS AN AUTHORITY ON WHAT AN AUTHOR SAYS (only exception: if you explicitly disagree with what I said in class). YOU MUST CITE THE AUTHOR HIMSELF.
Where the reference is to a text in the assigned readings, it is sufficient to provide page references in parentheses immediately after the quotation or attribution. In all other cases, provide a full bibliographic reference in a footnote or endnote. The page limit on the paper applies to the text of the paper only. Footnotes are free.

TO SHOW THAT YOU UNDERSTAND AN AUTHOR'S POSITION, IT IS NOT SUFFICIENT TO SIMPLY PARROT THE AUTHOR. Where you quote the author, make sure you explain in your own words the significance of the quoted material. It is often helpful to use your own examples to clarify the views of the author you are discussing.

CAREFULLY DISTINGUISH VIEWS THAT YOU CLAIM AN AUTHOR HOLDS FROM VIEWS THAT YOU CLAIM THE AUTHOR SHOULD HOLD OR IS COMMITTED TO HOLDING. Claims that an author holds a particular view must be supported with cites to the text. But claims that an author should hold or is committed to holding a particular view must be supported with relevant arguments, in addition to cites to the text.

CRITICAL EVALUATION. In your paper, you must critically evaluate the positions taken by authors you discuss—that is, you must take your own stand on which side is, on balance, the most reasonable position to take, and explain why you think so.

AVOID PLAGIARISM. You are expected to be familiar with the “Statement on Plagiarism” available on my webpage.

EVALUATION

Evaluating your essay I will consider the followings:

A clear presentation of your position (“central thesis”).

The arguments you present to support your position/thesis.

The insight, originality and the substantiality of your essay (or the lack of them)

The structure of your essay.

Style and grammar.

This essay is worth of 12% of your final grade!

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