Socrotes Plato

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Socrotes Plato

Two questions paragraph short answers

Question 1. Socrates and Plato were good teachers. They engaged their students curiosity. If you were to name an outstanding teacher you have had, who would it be? How did that person engage your curiosity? Describe that person and their impact on you as a learner. You might want to describe an actual class or situation. 

Question 2. Plato believed society should help people achieve a life based on eudaimonia rather than a life based on doxa. This occurs as we do philosophy and examine our ideas. We change our values. I had a friend who worked hard to help her son get through medical school. She envisioned him being successful. She envisioned him having a thriving practice, making a lot of money and “living the good life.” She had worked hard to support him through medical school. He joined the Peace Core after medical school. She was devastated and angry. She did not speak to him for a long time. He had developed a different idea of what would make his life successful. When you look at how doxa is described, do you agree or disagree that those are the wrong values? Every aspect of life in another Greek city state, Sparta, was geared to producing strong soldiers. The purpose of life was to win. If a battle was lost you did not come home defeated. Plato believes society should help people want the “more” in life, not just to win. Is it possible for someone to develop a life of eudaimonia and have some of the aspects described as doxa as a result of that life decision such as wealth or popularity? 

extra page for hw

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extra page for hw

eatra page for hw Order #HWN167028

extra page for hw

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extra page for hw

extra page for hw #HWN167027

ideas of socretes

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ideas of socretes

3 short answer questions. paragraph for each.

1. Socrates was in some ways an elitist. Participation and the ability to vote should be  based on education, having  the training to utilize reason and logic to question suppositions that underlie a position and identifying if it is false or true.  Do you buy his argument? Explain why or why not. Do we need training in logic and  reasoning to identify faulty reasoning. An example would be the use of the word all. I recently had some one tell me that all politicians are dishonest. If i know of one politician that is honest, then the statement can not be true. It is an overgeneralization. Could a person who has not been trained  in using logic and identifying flaws in a reasoning process be equally able to participate in a dialogue and arrive at what is true? There are many people who believe stereotypes. As children we are often taught to believe stereotypes based on our culture. Think of some of your early ideas about teachers, doctors, nurses, firemen, lawyers and other professions as well as people of other races or cultures. 

2. In an election there often are false narratives on Facebook and TV ads that contain information that is not true. There is stereotyping just as there was in  Hitler’s time. Visual images are used to manipulate us. Socrates said “I know nothing.” It is because of that idea that he was constantly questioning and looking for truth. He did it in person. Today we have arguments being made through oversimplification of information, as well as visual images that present a conclusion that is not always based on reality. How would his concept of ” I know nothing” work in making a decision regarding who your elected representative at any level of government should be today? You are not just attending a debate as in Athenian democracy and asking questions. You are being presented arguments on a multi-dimensional level. How would you go about identifying what is true and what is false today with multidimensional arguments being presented by candidates? 

3. Socrates argued that it is worse to commit an injustice than to receive an injustice. Is it worse to lie to someone than to be lied to? Explain your reasoning. Give an example.

socretes philosophy

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socretes philosophy

 Socrates idea: people strive for happiness; happiness occurs through wisdom and finding truth. We are constantly seeking truth as to how we should live. If we know truth we have an issue acting or making decisions contrary to that truth. For Socrates that truth is held within our “soul” ( the thinking and willing subject). Our knowledge will make us humble not arrogant. Yet, it is that knowledge that produces happiness. Why? It is because there is congruency between our inner world where we know truth and the use our wisdom to choose to act in a consistent manner to the truth held within our soul. We create happiness. ( this is what you are reacting to in your paper and should be part of your introduction)

We want to live a happy life. How do we get this happy life?   We use our gift of logic and reason to find truth. When we find truth we hold it within our soul.( the place within where we will our action) Then we have to live by that truth. It is living by that truth that may cause us conflict but we are happy because we have followed truth. For Socrates happiness would not be having a lot of money. He would see happiness or fulfillment coming from having acted consistently upon truth. Having a huge paycheck would be a value that comes from the world or society. In fact, he worked to supply the basics for his family. His wife hounded him to make more money and not spend so much time in the public square teaching and debating with others. He walked around barefoot and his clothes were worn. The fact that he was honest and sought truth was more important than money. In fact, Plato indicates that Socrates did not charge his students. Spending his time teaching and debating with his students  had more value for instance than a large house.  

Note that for Socrates I am happy because my outer world reflects my inner world of what I know to be true and I choose constantly to make decisions to act according to that truth. Happiness is connected to knowledge of truth.  Ask two people to describe what they consider a happy life to be and how they would create it. What is their description? What would yours be? Are there similarities with his definition? Are there differences. How do you account for the similarities and differences? 

I expect a well developed paper that follows the criteria  For example:

Introduction: Socrates concept of how we create a happy life. Your position where you agree, disagree or would modify his position. Position of the two people you asked what a happy life is and how they would create it.

Body 1: Explanation of Socrates idea and application showing how it would work. For example, if Socrates found that to tell a lie is wrong because it involves denying what is true, how would he be doing his taxes during our current tax season? Would he adjust his income by  undervaluing his assets and inflating his debts to reduce his taxes?  Would he claim to have given money to charity that he did not give? For example claiming he gave $20 a week to his church (1,400) when he actually gave $2.00. (104).

Body 2: Do you find you agree with his definition of a happy life and how to create it. Do you disagree? Would you modify it? Explain your reasoning and give some examples for support.

Body 3: Looking at the response of the people you questioned, how are they similar or different from Socrates? How did they support their concept?

Conclusion: How would you account for the similarities and differences in what happiness is as well as how to create it? 

socretes philosophy

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socretes philosophy

Homework 1. One of Socrates most famous quotes is ” the unexamined life is not worth living.” Give two reasons and an example why you agree or disagree with his statement. 

Homework 2. Why is there a greater chance of finding what is true in a dialogue than an argument? Think of how the process and the emotional context differ? In a dialogue we want to arrive at a place of truth and take the correct action. Today one issue is health care. One side would argue that everyone has a right to good health care; in fact, the same care ; it is a human right. The other would argue it is a commodity. Not everyone deserves the same care. You can chose how much care you want to purchase.  A dialogue would involve questioning the suppositions of each side. I may believe all humans have equal value. You may believe health care is a commodity like any other commodity and the distribution should be fair but not necessarily equal. Pick one of the suppositions and ask two questions about the supposition that would help us understand if that supposition is true as it is or needs clarification. ( look at the fish example. A dog swims. Is it a fish? Logic would tell you no. There are qualities of a fish that are very different from a dog. Not everything that swims is a fish)

Homework 3 A recent article pointed out that in many places in China the inflection rate regarding the pandemic has dropped to being non existent. Life has returned to normal. Masks were mandated. There were fines for not wearing one. If diagnosed with COVID, isolation was mandatory. Contact tracing was mandatory. Inoculation was mandated. Failure to follow the mandates could result in being sent to jail. For life to return to normal, would you accept the same mandates? Explain what would make it acceptable or unacceptable since the desired outcome would be regular face to face classes for students, open restaurants and bars, sporting events and contact sports  resuming and no restrictions on the number of people allowed in a gathering such as a wedding or church service. Be sure to include two reasons and support each reason.