Please answer ONE of the following six questions in 3-4 double-spaced pages.
Footnotes and bibliographies are NOT necessary. Please use in-text, parenthetical citations referencing the Stephanus numbers (for Plato) or the Bekker numbers (for Aristotle), as I do in my questions.
1. At the beginning of the Apology, Socrates claims that the Athenian jury will hear “the whole truth” from him; he will speak without “cleverness,” simply stating what is just as it pops into his head (17a-b). To what extent is Socrates’s speech to the jury honest? Does Socrates’s speaking justly require that he speak honestly? Answer by considering his interpretation of the divine sanctions that he claims justify his way of life.
2. Does Socrates intend to refute the charges brought against him? If so, to what extent does he succeed? If not, what is his genuine intention? Answer by considering the distinction Socrates makes between the charges of corruption and impiety and between his old and new accusers.
3. Why does Socrates refuse to flee Athens? Is the speech that Socrates puts into the mouth of “the laws” sufficient to explain his refusal to flee? Why or why not? Answer by considering the divergent moral and intellectual traits of Socrates and Crito as they appear in the Crito.
4. Aristotle is often held to believe that nature supplies humanity with authoritative guidance on how to live. Is this an accurate description of Aristotle’s position? Answer by considering the distinction Aristotle makes between the good simply and the human good (Ethics 1094b7), and his argument for the city’s completeness or self-sufficiency (Politics 1252b28-1253a40).
5. On what grounds does Aristotle distinguish political expertise from other kinds of expertise? Why is political expertise so difficult both to teach and to practice? Answer by considering Aristotle’s treatment of prudence.
6. Does Aristotle adequately resolve the dispute over whether it is better to be ruled by the best laws or the best individual (Politics 1286a9-10)? If so, which does he prefer? If not, why is the dispute irresolvable?
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