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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. Socrates is primarily charged with________________.

2. Socrates metaphorically refers to himself as __________,

3. According to Socrates, how should a good philosopher rule?

4. What is Socrates' view on the nature of death, particularly his own?

5. What is one example that Socrates uses to suggest that the city has already turned against him?

Short Essay Questions

1. Why does Socrates think that the forms of government are like forms in the human soul?

2. How does Socrates argue that it is unlawful to break out of prison?

3. Describe Socrates view of death and its role for the philosopher.

4. How does Socrates defend against Meletus' chargers of impiety?

5. Why does Socrates think philosophers make the best rulers?

6. Which trumps the other, according to Socrates, the laws of Athens or the gods?

7. Characterize the nature of Socrates' speech in his own defense.

8. Why does Socrates think that aspiring philosophers should be instructed in dialectic only at the end of their educations?

9. If one cannot live like a philosopher, what does Socrates think he should do?

10. What should be done about the poets, according to Socrates in Book X?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

According to Socrates in Book IV of The Republic, justice is a proper organization of the faculties of the soul such that each part is fulfilling its own proper role and not usurping the functions of others. Do you agree or disagree with this definition? Do you think Socrates equivocates this definition in other dialogues? Give examples either modern or ancient where you can test Socrates view of justice.

Essay Topic 2

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.

Essay Topic 3

In Meno, Socrates introduces the idea that learning is really a recollection of past knowledge. Where else in the dialogues or the Republic is this idea addressed? How is it different from Socrates' conception of learning in Meno? What challenges might we pose for Plato's theory of epistemology?

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