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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. Who is Eryximachus?

2. Why does Socrates speak about dogs and other animals to Glaucon?

3. According to Socrates, what are the two ways of training the soul?

4. Why does Socrates discuss Asclepius' philosophy?

5. When Meno arrives in Athens, who is accompanying him?

Short Essay Questions

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

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

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

4. What would happen, according to Socrates, if a cobbler exercised the role of a leader?

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

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

7. How does Socrates convince his interlocutors that a woman can do any job that a man can?

8. Why does Socrates want to censor literature in his republic?

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

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

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

What is the role of the "philosopher king" in The Republic? Do you agree or disagree with Plato's vision of a land ruled by philosophers instead of by politicians? Be sure to discuss the advantages and disadvantages of each approach.

Essay Topic 2

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 3

Choose your favorite Sophist and write a paper arguing for his thesis. You may choose "justice is the power of the stronger," or "the unjust life is more rewarding than the just one" or anything else you find in the text. Address the Socratic counter arguments to these claims and rebut them as best you can. Make sure to use textual evidence for your reasoning on both sides of your argument.

(see the answer keys)

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