Socrates Apology – Plato, Five Dialogues.
Description
Book – Plato, Five Dialogues, trans. G.M.A. Grube, 2nd edition (Hackett) Socrates explains why he deserves free meals at the expense of the city by telling the jury: “The Olympian victor makes you think yourself happy; I make you happy.” (36E). Explain how Socrates thinks he makes the citizens of Athens happy. You’ll need to answer the following questions in the course of your essay, and support your answers by reference to the text of the Apology. (1) What does Socrates think human virtue or excellence or the best possible state of the human soul is? (2) What is it that Socrates does in Athens? Socrates says that the god has ordered him “to live the life of a philosopher, to examine myself and others” (28E). But what exactly does this mean? What does Socrates do when he examines someone? (3) What is the connection between Socrates’ activity in Athens and virtue or excellence? In particular, why does Socrates think that he is helping others (that is, bringing them close to virtue or excellence) by examining them? (4) In Socrates’ view what is the relation of virtue or excellence to happiness? (5) Is Socrates himself happy? Why or why not? If he is happy, why does he insist that he is not wise? And if he is not happy, how can he make others happy? IT should NOT contain lengthy quotations from Plato (or anyone else), an introduction, a conclusion, footnotes, or other paraphernalia of the standard college term paper. You should also avoid using any sort of jargon. Your task is to explain, in clear and ordinary language, why and how Socrates thinks he benefits others. You should cite parenthetically those passages that support the claims you make about Socrates, and your citations should be to the numbers and letters in the margins of your translation, e.g. ’30A’. This paper should be limited and modest, you are not expected to make any original or significant contributions to the history of human thought instead, write a paper that is clear, analytical, and accurate, with regards to the text and the philosophers related. Please be clear, don’t use any technical words or terminology that is not understood or defined by itself. Be simple, straightforward and understanding. Don’t use any terms you would not use in a conversation. Unless it is clearly defined. Sentences should not be very long, paragraphs should not be very long. It should just not be a summary of what is going on, or about your opinions or beliefs. Instead you must identify the reason that are exclaimed in the text are made and must reflect on those. For the paragraphs (a) to clearly identify the conclusion of the argument and each of the steps in the line of reasoning that ends in that conclusion, then (b) explain how each step in the reasoning is supposed to follow logically from the earlier steps, (c) evaluate whether, as far as you can tell, each step really does follow logically from the earlier steps, and so whether the argument really does establish the conclusion, and finally (d) consider whether any of these steps is something false or at least open to question.