Applying Socrates and Platos Philosophies to Contemporary Cu…

Minimum of 4 pages, Times New Roman 12-point font, one-inch margins, double-spaced, proper

MLA parenthetical citations for all quotes. Include an introductory paragraph in which you explain

to the reader the intent and content of your essay, culminating in a thesis statement that

encapsulates the main claim/s of the essay.

Description

Your final task for this lesson will be to apply what you have learned from Platos Allegory of the

Cave and the Divided Line to our contemporary culture. Your essay should illustrate familiarity

and comprehension of the main points of Platos view of reality and the vision of moving from the

epistemological level of opinion to true knowledge presented in the Allegory of the Cave, and

apply these themes to some contemporary issue. Additionally, your essay should consider how

Socrates method of questioning and practice of philosophy is relevant in moving from opinion to

knowledge.

Either pick a current event/problem/issue or you may choose a contemporary film that reflects

these themes of moving from appearance to reality and discovering that ones beliefs about the

world are less certain than originally believed (the situation of the people in the cave). Apply the

Allegory of the Cave to either the contemporary issue or the film that you have chosen and show

how the levels of the allegory are reflected in the issue/film or how they could be applied.

Some questions that you might consider in your essay:

How does Platos philosophy help us to explain or recognize certain human reactions to

our opinions being challenged? In what ways can we be subject to only a partial view or

perspective about the world? Could the world we know and are familiar with be, in fact, an

illusion? Think about different examples of how, in our contemporary world, we often

remain at the level of opinion or belief, rather than seeking out the true nature of things,

when perhaps we take our personal experience as indicative to the whole of reality. How

does this contribute to the problems that we have in society, such as stereotypes, racism,

sexism, discrimination, or xenophobia?

You will also need to think about how Platos epistemological task is a continuation of

Socrates philosophical aims and how the Socratic Method is important for moving from

opinion to knowledge, as Plato insists we must do. Socrates method of questioning and

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his experience of discovering that often people do not know what they thing they know

show us why it is important to seek out other perspectives than ones own. Exposing

ourselves to other viewpoints and learning that there are other experiences of the world

that are not our own are ways to actually recognize if we have been living in the cave all

along. Length – Graded assignments should be sufficient in length to address the

question(s) or topic(s) completely. In this case, your essay should be a

minimum of four complete pages of writing (this does not include heading).

Submissions outside of the specified parameter will receive fewer points, and

you may be required to resubmit assignments which are significantly below

word limit or expectations.

Writing Skills

No first person in formal writing assignments

Essay must include an introduction and thesis that indicates the entire aim

of the essay, including reference to the specific contemporary debate or

film to be discussed.

Includes transitions/topic sentences that guide the reader and explain how

information will be used or connects to the theme of the essay

Quotes are contextualized introduced for why they are important and

then analyzed substantially after their us

Content

Essay should include effective expression of ideas, supporting detail from

the materials/readings provided and relevant examples for such ideas

when appropriate.

Essay should demonstrate insight into the topic and clear demonstration

familiarity and comprehension of the significance of Platos allegory of the

cave.

Essay should address the following topics:

Main points of Platos view of reality and his vision of moving from the

epistemological level of opinion to true knowledge (through allegory of the

cave and divided line).

How Platos epistemology is influenced by the Socratic Method

The distinction between appearance and reality

Indicate how Platos philosophy is relevant to a current

event/problem/situation (only one) or film

Analysis of debate or film/philosophy relationship is detailed and remains

focused on connecting to Platos philosophy

Presentation – You are expected to demonstrate college-level writing skills,

appropriate sentence structure, format, and grammar. Assignments which are

marred by errors in grammar, punctuation, spelling or organization will receive

fewer points, and you may be required to resubmit assignments which are

marred by significant errors.

References – include properly formatted references for all

materials/websites/information which are cited or utilized in your work

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