DUE FRI 3/16 Personal Reflection and Plato Assignment

DUE FRI 3/16

The following is class work for Friday 3/16 while I’m away. There is no homework, but if you don't finish something in class you can do it over the weekend.

1. If you did not finish yesterday’s class work, you can do it today (Friday). I will collect it when I return on Monday 3/19.

2. Blog entry: “Personal Reflection 3/16” – Since Socratic philosophy is largely about definitions, lets start with some of our own. In one paragraph (or more) define what a friend is and how you should act towards a friend. Instead of that, you can write a paragraph (or more) that defines what an enemy is and how you should act towards an enemy. Of course you can also write about both if you like. These are topics that you will read about in the assignment below.

3. Read The Republic Part I Section 2. “The Conventional View of Justice Developed” pp. 8-15

Answer question(s) from one or more of the sections that follow. You have to answer all the questions in each section, but you only have to answer one section. Don’t forget to cut/paste them into your blog and to print them out and keep them in your binder for easy access later.

Section 1

Short responses 2-5 sentences

A) In your opinion, is Polemarchus definition of justice, derived from the poet Simonedes, an improvement from his father’s definition?

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B) What is Simonides definition of justice? Has Polemarchus interpreted him correctly?

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C) What problem does Socrates see in the phrase, “helping one’s friends and harming ones enemies”? Why is this not an accurate definition of justice?

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D) What lesson do you think Socrates/Plato is trying to prove by having Polemarchus give in to Socrates when his father (Cephalus) would not?

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E) Whose argument do you find more convincing, Polemarchus or Socrates? Why? (This should be a longer response, short paragraph, about 5 sentences).

Section 2

Paragraph response

A) Amongst other things, Socrates strategy includes an attempt to define a friend (Section 334c-335b) and a critique of the idea that a just man can do harm (Section 335b-336a). Why did he start this line of questioning? What questions does he ask and what responses does he get that leads him to win the argument? Are his points valid and convincing?

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B) List 3-5 of the questions that Socrates asks that you think are the most useful in arguing against Polemarchus. Why are these questions useful for Socrates purposes?

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C) What lesson do you think Socrates/Plato is trying to prove by having Polemarchus give in to Socrates when his father (Cephalus) would not? Short answer response

Section 3

Write your own interpretive prompt/question. However, before you do you must also try to answer my question, What lesson do you think Socrates/Plato is trying to prove by having Polemarchus give in to Socrates when his father (Cephalus) would not?

Criteria for writing your own prompt/question

1) It must be related to the text and you must have to refer/cite the text in your answer

2) It must be interpretive, or “open” – there must be multiple ways of answering it.

3) You must demonstrate that you read the text and that you have thought about it, not necessarily that you are “right”, but that you thought about the text.

4) The response must be at least ½ page long.

4. Work on digital portfolios – don’t forget to add your Fahrenheit 451 essay or other essays that you want to have on there. YOU MUST HAVE YOUR FLASH ANIMATION ON YOUR D.P. FOR EXHIBITION, which is in two weeks.

Good Thinking,

Mr. J

Student Generated Questions

Use this space to leave questions related to content (i.e. justice and The Republic) which could later be used in a Socratic Seminar. Lots of good things have been coming out of class discussion that we might want to pursue in greater depth.

This is not required, but I know there are some good ideas out there, so I hope a lot of you share. I assume that as we read more of The Republic you will continue to generate more questions.

If you think that a question or a statement directly from The Republic would be good to discuss, such as a question posed by Socrates, you can mention that also.

Here is the criteria:

1. Questions must be related to justice or other issues pertaining to justice that we have read about in The Republic.

2. Question must be open. In other words, there can't be one simple answer - multiple answers must be possible.

3. A response to the question must be able to reference or cite The Republic at some point. The seminar discussion can stray from the text a little, but not too much, so keep that in mind while generating questions.

Good Thinking,

Mr. J

P.S. Don't forget the homework in the entry right below

DUE FRI, 3/16 Republic Assignment

DUE FRI, 3/16 Plato Assignment

Read: Part I Introduction, Prelude pp. 2-8 (all of the Prelude)

Post answers on your blog and also print them out and keep them in your binder so you can reference them in class. Don’t forget to put the questions in bold print and write the answer in regular print.

Answer all of the questions, this time you have to do both sections.

I. Answer the following questions – short answer (about a couple of sentences or more)

• Who are Cephalus and Polemarchus?

• What is the profession of Cephalus?

• What was Cephalus doing right before the discussion that took place?

• According to Cephalus, what are the virtues of old age?

• What are Cephalus’ view of justice?

• What is Socrates response?

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II. Write a one paragraph response to the following question:

• Do you agree with Cephaus or with Socrates? Why? If you don't agree with either of them, write about which one you think makes the stronger arguement - even if you think it is not "right" - and why?
  

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III. Try to give this a shot, if you can’t answer it that’s okay: What do you think Cephaus represents? What is particular or unique about his view of justice compared to the others you have discussed in class?

DUE THUR, 3/15 Similie of the Cave Reading Questions

Reading Questions

Plato. “The Simile of the Cave.” The Republic.

Answer the following questions in your blog, but also print them out and keep them in your binder in order to reference them in class. Cut and paste the questions in bold, and type your answers in regular font underneath (like we have done before).

[These reading questions are also available as a word document in important documents. If you like, you can download it as a word document, type directly into it, and then cut/paste into your blog. If you start doing this at school, don't forget to email yourself at home or have another way to save it].

There are two sections. You have the choice of doing Section One OR Section Two. Section One asks directed questions that require short answers. It also includes some commentary that is meant to help you focus your thinking about the text. If you are not confident with the text, I suggest you do Section One. If you are confident with the text and would like to write amore in-depth paragraphs you might want to consider Section Two.

ANSWER THE QUESTIONS IN YOUR OWN WORDS – PARAPHRASE, DON’T COPY.

SECTION ONE:

Answer ALL of these questions with short answers (3 - 5 sentences).

1. Socrates asks Glaucon to suppose that one of the prisoners is freed and leaves the cave (p. 242 section 515d). What happens to the prisoner when he gets outside? Why does this happen to the prisoner?

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2. Socrates states that the prisoners would try to kill anyone who tries to liberate them and lead them out of the cave (pp. 243 – 244 section 517a). Why would the prisoners kill someone who is trying to lead them outside?

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3. While reading pages 243-244 (section 517) keep in mind that the cave represents the way society actually is, while the sun (visible outside the cave) represents knowledge that could make for a better society. Don’t let the wording confuse you, Socrates sometimes calls the outside “the intelligible region” and associates it with “the divine.”

What is special about “the intelligible region” and why is it important for public servants/political leaders (p. 244 section 517 b and e) ?

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4. What is wrong with having uneducated people run society? What is wrong with having intellectuals (i.e. well-educated people) run society (p. 323 section 519c)?

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5. On pp. 323 – 324 (section 519 section d – section 520) Socrates tells Glaucon what the “job” of a lawmaker is. What is the job of a lawmaker and how is a lawmaker supposed to influence the best minds?

OR ... (If you prefer you can do Section Two below)

SECTION TWO:

Answer ONE of the following questions. Answers should be about ½ a page – 1 page. I will only accept thoughtful and good answers. Don’t be afraid to give it a shot and to take a risk, but do not try to B.S. your way through an answer. YOU MUST DEMONSTRATE THAT YOU HAVE READ THE TEXT. If you write something that you think is particularly thoughtful and think it is worth extra credit, let me know and I’ll consider it.

1. Compare and contrast what Socrates says in “The Simile of the Cave” with Fahrenheit 451. How are characters like Mildred similar to characters in “Simile of the Cave”?

OR

2. How is Beatty's job and philosophy from Fahrenheit 451 similar/different from “the job of the lawgivers” as described by Socrates on pages 245-248?

ANNOUCEMENT - Turn it in

I dropped the ball and forgot to add a link on turnitin.com for you to post your book reviews . I just did it, and I’ll give you a couple of days to post it, but please make sure you do. I will not grade individual essays if they are not on turnitin.com.

Mr. J

DUE WED 3/14 - Personal Reflection (Plato)

Respond to the following prompt in your blog. Please don't forget to highlight the question and cut/paste it into your blog, above your response.

Recall a time that you heard a statement of “fact” that was later found to be untrue. It can be from a parent, a teacher, a friend, a government official, a book, or a film. How did you find out it was untrue and how did it make you feel? Did it change your outlook on anything?

An example from a book we recently read is in Fahrenheit 451, where Montag realizes that books are actually good things and should not be destroyed. For Montag, that realization was profound and changed the way he lived and thought. You might not have experienced something as dramatic, but you might have been exposed to ideas that some people, including yourself, assumed were true, only to later realize were untrue.

Learning how to live your life so that you can guard against untruths and the illusions of society is partly what we will be reading about when we start Plato’s Republic.

ANNOUNCEMENT - GRADES

I hope everyone had a great three day weekend!

Powergrade has been updated with grades for Fahrenheit 451 essays and blogs. Please check the essay grades to ensure that they are the grades for your final draft. Some of you wrote more drafts than others so keep me honost and check your grades.

I have graded the blogs but did not get a chance to comment on them except for a few people like Jessi, Brianna, and Britany. I hope to comment on more of them, especially for those of you who put asterisks next to your entries. That might mean that you, as a tema, don't get your grades for the book review for a while.

I will put in the grades for the persuasive speeches when we are done presenting them, which should be this week.

Mr. J