West Pol Thought Midterm - Major Issues Of Western Political Thought PDF

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issues of western political thought midterm study guide ...

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Midterm ● Wednesday 2-4 office hours ● Worth 25% of the grade ● Made up of 3 parts: ○ 1) multiple choice worth 30 points, (10 questions)- drawn from lecture/discussion notes. Read them carefully, look for things like “not” and “all” underlined in a question. no dates or anything. ○ 2) quote IDs (30 points)- drawn from texts (the list of the following texts will be on the exam...2 from Antigone, 2 from Thucydides, 3 from Gorgias, 1 from Apologlogy, 1 from Crito, and 1 from the Republic), you’ll be given a list of 9 quotes (you don’t have to recognize them all. you get to select 5 of the 9 to ID) some will be blatantly obvious, some will be ones that were on the handout. WHAT YOU GET POINTS FOR: 1 for identifying author/thinker (not who said it), 1 for identifying the text, 4 points for the significance of the quote. significance= “this is from thucydides history of the peloponnesian war, this is pericles speaking about ____” and to bring some additional information to bear that you have learned in the course like draw on historical and political contexts from lecture, what you know about what the same author says elsewhere in his texts, compare and contrast to a different text. ■ example: “both in war and in courts, and everywhere else one must obey the commands of one’s city and country or persuade it as to the nature of justice” - Plato, Crito= significance justice/obedience are key themes... it is comparable to the way Creon feels in Antigone about duty to a state and the nature of what that demands. socrates in the apology on disobeying command to stop philosophy…. ● should be 3 or 4 sentences long; it hits on these themes and that is significant in this greater context ○ 3)Essay question: (worth 40 points) 2 of the 4 questions will appear and then we choose 1 of them. ○ Handouts and Lecture notes will point out key themes. ***Dont forget to look at reading questions***

ESSAYS 1. Assess the claims and actions of Antigone from the standpoint of “the Laws” as presented by the character of Socrates in Plato’s Crito. The laws would find Antigone dishonorable because “the Laws” exist as one entity, to break one would be to break them all, and in doing so, Antigone caused great harm. She ended up killing herself and causing others to be killed aswell. She put stress on her family and although she was trying to do the right thing, by living in Thebes, she was bound to the Laws like a child is bound to a parent, and so to go against the Laws is be like striking a parent. Rather than simply break the Laws, Antigone would have had to successfully persuade the Laws (Creon) to let her

bury her brother. These Laws present the citizen's duty to them in the form of a kind of social contract.

2. In the Gorgias and the first book of the Republic the character of Socrates uses what has come to be known as the “craft-analogy.” He uses examples such as medicine to develop claims about the general character of techne (translated as “crafts,” “arts,” or “skills”), and then applies these claims to discuss oratory and rulership. Summarize these claims and evaluate their application to political activities. Should we follow Socrates in viewing political activities as techne? Socrates claims that politicians don’t know anything, but craftsmen do. That is, craftsmen (doctors, blacksmiths, shoe makers etc.) all know a lot about their particular trade. Sophacles believes that crafts are either genuinely good, or just flattery. For example if we compare gymnastics with cosmetics, we see that doing gymnastics is genuinely good for us whereas cosmetics only make us temporarily look good and serve no long term purpose (gymansitcs is a real craft and cosmetics are a flattery). Socrates believes that if oratory and rulership were taught to people who really understand justice and virtue, and aren’t just being people pleasers, they too could become crafts instead of flatteries. Socrates tells Gorgias (who teaches the ways of oratory to paying citizens) that he should be more selective in who he teaches it too because people who are skilled in oratory have power to influence. I would argue that in modern day politics, we should not follow Socrates in viewing political activities as techne because many politicians have no idea what they’re talking about and do whatever large donors to their campaigns tell them to do which is not just. 3. Compare and contrast the claims about justice and the stronger made by the Athenians in the Melian dialogue to those made by Thrasymachus in Book One of Plato’s Republic. Athenians’ claims in Melian dialogue: justice can only be made in discussion and debate with others when both sides are equal, when they are not equal the stronger will prevail and the weaker must accept that (Athenians to the Melians, if you do not accept this you will be crushed plain and simple). The way of nature of Gods and men is that power results in ruling over those with less power. They did not make it, they are just following inherent nature. Thrasymachus: Claims that justice is what is good for the stronger. Justice benefits the rulers who define “what justice” is. (very similar to Athenians at Melian Dialogue in that justice is ruled by the stronger/more powerul, inherent in nature blah blah blah). Interest of rulers and ruled at odds. However: says somethings Athenians never mention (I think). Says that the stronger are the rulers who could be tyrants, aristocrats, democrats (Athenians do not see themselves as tyrants but do as democrats?) Rulers, if properly rules do not make mistakes? When injustice overcomes justice it becomes justice (Athenians dont mention this I think)

4. Pericles’ leadership is positively evaluated by Thucydides (ii. 65), but directly criticized by the character of Socrates in the Gorgias. Compare and contrast the standards of good leadership held by Thucydides and Socrates and explain how these lead them to disagree in evaluating Pericles. General notes: Antigone: Oedipus has just passed away in Colonus, and Antigone and her sister decide to return to Thebes with the intention of helping their brothers, Eteocles and Polyneices, avoid a prophecy that predicts they will kill each other in a battle for the throne of Thebes. Upon her arrival in Thebes, Antigone learns that both of her brothers are dead. Eteocles has been given a proper burial, but Creon, Antigone's uncle who has inherited the throne, has issued a royal edict banning the burial of Polyneices, who he believes was a traitor. Antigone defies the law, buries her brother, and is caught. When Creon locks her away in prison, she kills herself. Meanwhile, not realizing Antigone has taken her own life, the blind prophet Teiresias, Creon's son and Antigone's fiancé Haemon, and the Chorus plead with Creon to release her. Creon finally relents, but in an instance of too-late-timing, finds her dead in her jail cell. Out of despair, Haemon and Creon’s wife have by now also killed themselves, and Creon is left in distress and sorrow. Themes: Fate and free will, rules and order, determination, power, love of family, femininity, mortality Characters: http://www.shmoop.com/antigone-sophocles/characters.html Potential Quotes: http://www.shmoop.com/antigone-sophocles/quotes.html Thucydides: Gorgias: Gorgias is a detailed study of virtue founded upon an inquiry into the nature of rhetoric, art, power, temperance, justice, and good versus evil. As such, the dialogue both maintains independent significance and relates closely to Plato's overarching philosophical project of defining noble and proper human existence. It exists in the form of a mostly friendly (though at times scathing) conversation between Socrates and four fellow citizens. Chaerephon, an apparent contemporary of Socrates, is found speaking with Plato's teacher at the beginning of the dialogue, yet says little else throughout the conversation. Callicles, another of Socrates's peers (and here his harshest insulter), plays host to Gorgias as well as opponent to Socrates near the discussion's close. Gorgias is the famous orator (for whom this text was named), the questioning of whom serves as catalyst for the debates around which Gorgias centers. And

Polus is Gorgias's inexperienced, overeager student. One must remember that although the dialogue depicts a fictitious interaction, Socrates was indeed Plato's teacher. As a result, this character's words for the most part should be taken as indicative of the actual Socratic framework and presentation, in addition to serving as an expression of Plato's own positions. Though Plato himself did not split his writing into sections, the text nonetheless divides quite smoothly into general topics. The first vague section (ending at 466) finds Socrates and his friend Chaerephon discussing Gorgias's status as an imminent rhetorician. Socrates desires to question Gorgias about the scope and nature of rhetoric, so the two head towards the home of Callicles where the great Sophist can be found. The intense discussion that ensues leads to the more general consideration of true versus false arts (flattery/routine), a distinction based upon the good existing as different from the pleasant. Though this is the first hint at the dissimilarity between the two notions, the point is not further developed until much later in the dialogue. The second part (466–480) delves into the true essence of power, with the eventual conclusion that it exists both in an overall lack of need and in one's ability to perform only those actions he/she independently wills. In this sense, for example, a tyrannical leader does not have actual power, because he/she must perform actions (such as executions) since they are good for the state—not because the ruler independently wills them. This particular inquiry quickly leads to a defining of what is the worst wrong a person can commit, with the eventual determination that no evil surpasses that of inflicting wrong and escaping punishment. Herein lies the text's first suggestion of an overarching question of right and wrong, an issue that eventually results in a mapping of virtue. The next general portion (480–488) contains a divergence from the rest of the more typically investigative tone of Gorgias. Callicles spends a fair amount of time chastising Socrates and the fact that such a grown man would remain immersed in the pursuit of philosophy. Apparently, Callicles sees this continued practice as a disgrace in adults. Here more than anywhere else in the work, Socrates's pursuit of truth is directly threatened by the prevalent beliefs of his contemporaries. The fourth sweeping section (488–507) tracks the participants' inquiry into the nature and value of temperance and justice. Within this discussion, Socrates supplies a somewhat abstract logical proof of the distinction between the good and the pleasant, thereby resolving an issue begun in the dialogue's first main section. For Plato and his teacher, the chaos of contemporary Greek society (especially in Athens) was based on the failure of most to recognize this fundamental difference. This widespread oversight in turn leads to a confusion of flattery for art, persuasion for truth, and other such illusions. The conversation moves on to conclude the topic with a grounding of proper existence in temperance and justice. What remains of the text (through 527e) comprises an attempt by Socrates to display how virtue arises from an appropriate balance of the arts defined earlier in the dialogue, as well as an attempt to show how virtue manifests itself in a righteous life. Socrates describes virtue of the body (through gymnastics and medicine) as well as of the soul (through temperance and justice). Interestingly, Socrates's response here smacks of rhetoric and oration more than of

dialogue, and his tone takes on a passion and urgency unusual even for him. This intense passion suggests the vital significance for him (and thus for Plato) of the topics in focus. The mythology of death Socrates relates at the dialogue's conclusion illustrates the importance of virtue both in this world and beyond. Themes: http://www.sparknotes.com/philosophy/gorgias/themes.html Potential Quotes: http://www.sparknotes.com/philosophy/gorgias/quotes.html The Apology (trial and death of socrates): Plato's The Apology is an account of the speech Socrates makes at the trial in which he is charged with not recognizing the gods recognized by the state, inventing new deities, and corrupting the youth of Athens. Socrates' speech, however, is by no means an "apology" in our modern understanding of the word. The name of the dialogue derives from the Greek "apologia," which translates as a defense, or a speech made in defense. Thus, in The Apology, Socrates attempts to defend himself and his conduct--certainly not to apologize for it. He explains that he has no experience with the law courts and that he will instead speak in the manner to which he is accustomed: with honesty and directness. He explains that his behavior stems from a prophecy by the oracle at Delphi which claimed that he was the wisest of all men. Recognizing his ignorance in most worldly affairs, Socrates concluded that he must be wiser than other men only in that he knows that he knows nothing. In order to spread this peculiar wisdom, Socrates explains that he considered it his duty to question supposed "wise" men and to expose their false wisdom as ignorance. These activities earned him much admiration amongst the youth of Athens, but much hatred and anger from the people he embarrassed. He cites their contempt as the reason for his being put on trial. Socrates then proceeds to interrogate Meletus, the man primarily responsible for bringing Socrates before the jury. This is the only instance in The Apology of the elenchus, or crossexamination, which is so central to most Platonic dialogues. His conversation with Meletus, however, is a poor example of this method, as it seems more directed toward embarrassing Meletus than toward arriving at the truth. In a famous passage, Socrates likens himself to a gadfly stinging the lazy horse which is the Athenian state. Without him, Socrates claims, the state is liable to drift into a deep sleep, but through his influence--irritating as it may be to some--it can be wakened into productive and virtuous action. Socrates is found guilty by a narrow margin and is asked to propose a penalty. Socrates jokingly suggests that if he were to get what he deserves, he should be honored with a great meal for being of such service to the state. On a more serious note, he rejects prison and exile, offering perhaps instead to pay a fine. When the jury rejects his suggestion and sentences him to death, Socrates stoically accepts the verdict with the observation that no one but the gods know what happens after death and so it would be foolish to fear what one does not know. He also warns

the jurymen who voted against him that in silencing their critic rather than listening to him, they have harmed themselves much more than they have harmed him. Characters: Socrates - The protagonist of The Apology, as well as all of Plato's other dialogues. Socrates seems to be a very simple man, not having many material possessions and speaking in a plain, conversational manner. However, this seeming plainness is all a part of the ironic characteristic of Socrates' method. Professing his own ignorance, he engages in conversation with someone claiming to be an expert, usually in ethical matters. By asking simple questions, Socrates gradually reveals that his interlocutor is in fact very confused and does not actually know anything about the matters about which he claimed to be an expert. The quest for wisdom and the instruction of others through dialogue and inquiry were considered by Socrates to be the highest aims in life: one of his most famous sayings is, "The unexamined life is not worth living." Some have argued that Socrates himself never advanced any theories of his own, and certainly many of the doctrines that appear in the later dialogues are of Plato's invention. In early dialogues, such as The Apology, Plato presents us with a Socrates who is less informed by Platonic philosophy and serves more as foil for his interlocutors who claim to have positive knowledge. Meletus - The chief accuser of Socrates, responsible for bringing him to trial. Little is known about Meletus and by all accounts, he seems to have been a rather insignificant figure. Plato's portrayal of him, both in The Apology and in The Euthyphro (see 2b) is far from sympathetic. Socrates' cross-examination of him in The Apology puts Meletus to shame. Themes: http://www.sparknotes.com/philosophy/apology/analysis.html Potential Quotes: http://www.goodreads.com/work/quotes/1692879 Crito: The dialogue takes place in Socrates' prison cell, where he awaits execution. He is visited before dawn by his old friend Crito, who has made arrangements to smuggle Socrates out of prison to the safety of exile. Socrates seems quite willing to await his imminent execution, and so Crito presents as many arguments as he can to persuade Socrates to escape. On a practical level, Socrates' death will reflect badly on his friends--people will think they did nothing to try to save him. Also, Socrates should not worry about the risk or the financial cost to his friends; these they are willing to pay, and they have also arranged to find Socrates a pleasant life in exile. On a more ethical level, Crito presents two more pressing arguments: first, if he stayed, he would be aiding his enemies in wronging him unjustly, and would thus be acting unjustly himself; and second, that he would be abandoning his sons and leaving them without a father. Socrates answers first that one should not worry about public opinion, but only listen to wise and expert advice. Crito should not worry about how his, Socrates', or others' reputations may fare in the general esteem: they should only concern themselves with behaving well. The only question

at hand is whether or not it would be just for Socrates to attempt an escape. If it is just, he will go with Crito, if it is unjust, he must remain in prison and face death. At this point, Socrates introduces the voice of the Laws of Athens, which speaks to him and explain why it would be unjust for him to leave his cell. Since the Laws exist as one entity, to break one would be to break them all, and in doing so, Socrates would cause them great harm. The citizen is bound to the Laws like a child is bound to a parent, and so to go against the Laws would be like striking a parent. Rather than simply break the Laws and escape, Socrates should try to persuade the Laws to let him go. These Laws present the citizen's duty to them in the form of a kind of social contract. By choosing to live in Athens, a citizen is implicitly endorsing the Laws, and is willing to abide by them. Socrates, more than most, should be in accord with this contract, as he has lived a happy seventy years fully content with the Athenian way of life. If Socrates were to break from prison now, having so consistently validated the social contract, he would be making himself an outlaw who would not be welcome in any other civilized state for the rest of his life. And when he dies, he will be harshly judged in the underworld for behaving unjustly toward his city's laws. Thus, Socrates convinces Crito that it would be better not to attempt an escape. Characters: Socrates - The protagonist of the Crito (and most of Plato's dialogues). Socrates is one of the most important figures in the history of Western philosophy, standing at the origin of the rational tradition initiated by himself, Plato, and Aristotle. Socrates himself arguably never advanced any doctrines of his own. His method consisted more of questioning others who claimed to have great knowledge or wisdom, and through the elenchus, or cross- examination, showing them that they were in fact ignorant. Thus, his influence lies not in a set of theories he advanced, but his method of approaching questions, and his unrelenting scrutiny. The Crito finds him an old man of seventy, sitting in prison and awaiting execution. Crito - An old friend of Socrates, about his age. Like many of Plato's dialogues, the Crito takes its name from Socrates' primary...