View a FREE sample

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

Short Answer Questions

1. Crito first attempted to persuade Socrates with what type of argument?

2. According to Crito and Socrates, is it just to harm another person if it is purely in retaliation?

3. Who is Phaedo?

4. What do we know about Phaedo?

5. What does "transmigration of souls" mean?

Short Essay Questions

1. What is the intended audience for Book 5?

2. What is "Idealism" in philosophy?

3. What do Socrates and Crito say about experts?

4. What were the ancient Greeks' beliefs regarding the afterlife?

5. What was the Pythagorean school of thought?

6. What evidence led Plato and the Pythagoreans to the theory of an eternal soul?

7. What conclusion do Socrates and Crito reach regarding the laws of the land?

8. What do Socrates' friends say about suicide, and the preservation of life, in the "Phaedo"?

9. What is the philosophical subject of Book 4?

10. What does Tarrant use as an example to illustrate the differences in mentality, in this section, regarding death and suicide?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Compare the various scholars who contributed to "The Last Days of Socrates." What are their areas of expertise? Which portions of the text do they comment on, and why? How do they relate to the text of the dialogues? What do they challenge, or choose to explain? Be sure to cite specific examples from the text to support your thesis.

Essay Topic 2

Socrates is still considered wise, more than 2000 years after his death. Why has he been nearly immortalized in the annals of history? Why is he considered so wise? Did his contemporaries feel the same way about him that modern philosophers do? Why or why not? Be sure to cite specific examples from the text to support your thesis.

Essay Topic 3

Socrates refuses to leave Athens and escape his punishment because he felt that it was just to stay. Do you agree? Would it have been better for Socrates to have fled Athens? Why or why not? What do you think you would do in this situation? Why? Be sure to cite specific examples from the text to support your thesis.

(see the answer keys)

This section contains 804 words (approx. 3 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample