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This test consists of 5 short answer questions, 10 short essay questions, and 1 (of 3) essay topics.

Short Answer Questions

1. One virtue that Socrates constantly refers to in his reasoning throughout Book III is_____________.

2. The common man is not concerned with beauty itself, but ___________.

3. In the beginning of Book IV, Adeimantus ask Socrates__________________.

4. What are "the three"?

5. Who is Glaucon?

Short Essay Questions

1. What is Socrates' plan for the familial arrangement of the republic?

2. How should soldiers, according to Socrates, be trained in the ideal republic?

3. What is the crucial difference, according to Socrates, between the common man and the philosopher?

4. How is the story of the Symposium framed? How does this relate to the cultural values of the Greeks?

5. What is Polemarchus main mistake in defining justice as "benefiting one's friends and harming one's enemies"?

6. Explain Plato's theory of knowledge as recollection.

7. What is Socrates ultimate conclusion about the function of justice?

8. What does Cephalus tell Socrates about the key to enjoying old age?

9. Whom does Socrates think is to be chosen to rule the city and why?

10. What is the purpose of Aristophanes' myth about men and women once being unified and then split apart? How does he end his story?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

In Phaedo Socrates promotes the idea that philosophy is preparing for dying, and that a true philosopher should not fear death but welcome it. Would Socrates then be able to justify suicide as a good thing? Why or why not? Do you think Socrates commits suicide? Why or Why not?

Essay Topic 2

How does Socrates plan for his city's rulers to not be corrupted by power? Do you think his plan is practical?

Essay Topic 3

Does Socrates "learning as a recollection of old knowledge" thesis in Meno help prove his argument for the immortal soul in Phaedo? Why or why not?

(see the answer keys)

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