Pl 100 Philosophy and the Human Condition Summer 2008
Due Date: This project will be presented in class on Friday, July 18, 2008 - NO EXCEPTIONS!
Assignment: Write an original Platonic dialogue (three to
four typed pages) asking “Ti esti?” about some important idea.
Directions: Choose some important idea that you would like to define, e.g.,
holiness, truth, beauty, love, etc. Do
not do the idea of “justice.” Write an original dialogue that contains the
following parts:
1.
An introduction that sets the scene;
2.
Dialogue that leads up to and asks the “Ti esti?” question;
3. Questioning
by Socrates that leads to a point of confusion (the characters should actually
say that they are confused so that the audience gets it);
4. Some progress
toward a new and better definition; and
5.
An ending that is not abrupt. Think of an interesting way to end the
scene.
Your dialogue (three to four typed
pages) should include Socrates as the main questioner and have other characters
(each person in the group should have a speaking part). Socrates should do most of the talking in the
dialogue. The dialogue should capture
the spirit of Socratic questioning.
Socrates leads the others toward the answers, but they find the answers
themselves.
The dialogue should be typed and have a cover sheet . . You should spend a minimum of 150 minutes on this project .
Grading: I will grade your dialogue in comparison to all dialogues presented
this semester. I will base it on the
directions above. Is the
dialogue typed, three-four pages long, and use correct spelling, grammar,
etc.? This project will count as one exam grade.
You may use other dialogues by Plato (from our text or from
the library) as models, but be very careful not to plagiarize. Plagiarism will result in a grade of F for
this exam for all members of the group!
There are excellent web sites on Plato.
One with five of Plato’s
dialogues is: EXPLORING PLATO'S DIALOGUES, A Virtual Learning Environment on the World-Wide Web and the address is: http://plato.evansville.edu/intro.htm Another good site is
http://socrates.clarke.edu/
Your
midterm grade will be the average of this group exam, the midterm exam and your
homework average. Each
will count as 1/3 of midterm grade.