Class discussion on Socrates was based mostly on the book by Jostein Gaarder (Sophie's World, pages 56-71). For the exam, however, you will need to make sure you have also read the assignment from Donald Palmer's book (Does the Center Hold, pages 28-35). Some elements of that discussion were also mentioned in class on 9/2/03, but others were not.
Consider the following questions based on the reading from Does the Center Hold?
-
What are "Platonic Dialogues"?
- Who was Xenophon?
- Who are the
"three audiences" in Robert Paul Wolff's analysis of "Socratic ignorance"?
- What did Socrates mean by arete?
- What did he mean when he said, "The unexamined life is not worth living"?
- What motivation did Bertrand Russell give for the task of philosophy?
For a list of questions related to the reading assignment from Sophie's World on Socrates, click here.