Study Questions for Exam 1

See new question at bottom.

Try to answer these questions in as much detail as possible.  As you study, use the text, but make sure that you can put the arguments of the text in your own words.  Make sure that you understand the arguments.  It is impossible to overestimate the value of discussing these questions with others in the class once you have composed your own answers independently.

• Why justice? Why be just? The main speakers in the Republic all indicate in one way or another that they wish to affirm the importance of being just.  From listening to their statements, arguments and examples, what sort of thing might an interested Athenian listener conclude from their conversation in answer to the question: How is that justice (whatever that may turn out to be) is said to be proper to the human soul.
• Explain specifically what the ring of Gyges example in the Republic is intended to demonstrate.
• Explain in your own words what Socrates says is wrong with the following definition of piety: "What is dear to the gods is pious, what is not is impious."
• What does Socrates conclude about wisdom from the Oracle's pronouncement that no one is wiser than he and what he knows about himself?  Be sure to explain the conclusion that Socrates states, particularly in Apology.
• Explain Socrates' reasons for believing that it is always better to suffer harm than to do it.
• Explain each of Socrates' arguments about why he chooses to die rather than to flee the city (given in the Crito).  What is Socrates' most important argument and why is it important?
• What are the three types of goods that Glaucon describes?
• Which one of the above types do most people think justice belongs in?
• Which one of the above types does Socrates believe justice belongs in?  Explain Socrates' view and his reasoning.
• What charges are brought against Socrates at his trial and how does he answer them (how does he defend himself)?
• Explain in some detail the "myth of the metals" and its significance for the good city being developed in the Republic.
• If Socrates knew that the afterlife wasn't going to be very pleasant (maybe full of people who hated questioning and threw stones at him every time he asked a question), do you think he would have done something different before, in or after his trial?
• Explain and evaluate Socrates' conversations with the laws.
• Explain a or some basic flaw(s) of Thrasymachus’ idea of justice or his argument for his idea (if you like his idea, explain why he didn't do a better job of arguing with Socrates).
• State and explain as clearly and in as much detail as possible Socrates' argument against Thrasymachus' claims that justice is nothing other than the advantage of the ruler.
• Explain the role of guardians in Socrates' fantasy city and describe both the natural qualities and the education guardians must have.
• What, according to Socrates, is the proper relationship between the three parts of the soul: the rational, the spirited and the appetitive?  Use the analogy with the good city to explain why this relationship is necessary.
• Explain the allegory of the cave, including its over-all significance for Plato's theory of knowledge and the meaning of each particular element, including the person who manages to get free.