Reed College
Reed College

Humanities 110

Introduction to the Humanities

Paper Topics | Fall 2007 | Paper 4

Maximum Length 1500 words
Due Saturday, December 1st 5 p.m., in your conference leader's Eliot Hall mailbox.

  1. Based on Aristophanes portrait of Sophistry and Philosophy in The Clouds (pp. 67-80), is Socrates a sophist or a philosopher--or possibly both? Would Plato agree or disagree with your assessment and why? What might you offer by way of a reply to Plato?

  2. In the Crito Socrates argues that the individual citizen must yield to his country, even more than to parents or ancestors. You must, he writes, either persuade it or obey its orders, and endure in silence whatever it instructs you to endure, whether blows or bonds, and if it leads you into war to be wounded or killed, you must obey (Crito 51b). What are the steps by which Socrates arrives at this position, what counter-arguments might you offer to this position, and how might he in turn respond to your objections? Explain why you think his response is satisfactory or unsatisfactory.

  3. In book II Glaucon aims to renew Thrasymachus' argument for the claim that "the life of the unjust person is, they say, much better than that of the just one" (358c4-5). In book IX, Socrates finally responds to Thrasymachus: the wholly just man is always happier than the wholly unjust man. 729 times happier, to be precise (587e). (A) What is Socrates' argument in support of this conclusion? (B) How might someone like Thrasymachus object to this argument? (C) Develop the strongest response you think Socrates might give to Thrasymachus' counterargument. (D) Is Socrates' response [in part C] satisfactory and why or why not?

  4. Why does Plato find it necessary to ban poets like Homer from the ideal Republic? Could the reasons Plato cites for banning poetry in the ideal state be used against his own use of the myth of Er? Why then does Plato use the myth of Er in the Republic?

  5. Plato argues that philosophers will rule in his ideal state; however, he doesnt seem to think that ruling is doing philosophy: They [the guardians] will spend most of their time doing philosophy, but, when his turn comes, each must labor in politics and rule for the citys sake, not as something fine, but rather as something that must be done (540b). This claim seems to violate Platos principle that each person should practice the one profession for which he or she is most suited by nature. Flesh out a criticism along these lines, and then use the text of the Republic to explain how Plato might respond. Do you find this response satisfactory?

  6. In consultation with your instructor, devise a topic of your own.