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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. Whose stories does Socrates think dangerous for the moral turpitude of his city's citizens?

2. In Socrates' republic, judges must__________.

3. Where is wisdom found in Socrates' ideal republic?

4. How does Socrates plan to keep the soldiers of the republic from fighting?

5. What do Socrates' interlocutors object to in the beginning of Book V?

Short Essay Questions

1. How does Socrates plan to prevent the rulers from becoming tyrants?

2. What is the purpose of Alcibiades late-night intrusion into the Symposium? What does he talk about?

3. Does Socrates believe that his theoretical republic is a realistic political plan for a city?

4. How is Meno an example of indirect teaching? How does Plato corroborate his own theory of learning as recollection?

5. Why is Meno's definition of virtue unsatisfactory for Socrates?

6. What is justice, according to Socrates?

7. What is the best way, according to Socrates, that people not be given false impressions about the gods?

8. How does Socrates use metaphors to explain Ion's inspiration? How does this relate to the practice of art or philosophy?

9. How does Socrates distinguish knowledge known through art from knowledge known through inspiration?

10. Explain the irony of the following statement as it relates to Ion: "Plato is the supreme enemy of art and is also the supreme artist."

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Is Socrates a tragic hero? If yes, what are his hubrius and harmartia? If no, why not?

Essay Topic 2

How does Plato, in the Great Dialogues, separate himself from Socrates? To answer this you may note one major difference between Socrates' and Plato's ideas. To what to do you attribute this disagreement? What does this tell you about the relationship between Plato and Socrates?

Essay Topic 3

Design your own Platonic dialogue centered around characters that already exist in the works. You may choose from any number of topics including justice, love, mortality/death, friendship, anger, truth, or a concept of your own devising. Make sure to use Socratic techniques such as aporia, cross-examination, and clarification of term in your dialogue.

(see the answer keys)

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