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Phil 2 Paper Topics 1Plato Paper Topics
Write a two-page paper that gives an answer to one of the following questions. After the paper has been criticized in class, you will have a chance to rewrite it. The polished paper must be typed and double-spaced. All papers should contain a summary of the main ideas you refer to and a thesis of your own with support for your own thesis.
1- Are people free in Plato's Republic?
2- Explain how the Allegory of the Cave relates to the utopia of the Republic.
3- Is it possible to have a good society where only some people make decisions, why or why not.
4- Discuss Plato's theory of human nature and how it relates to his political ideals. Support or criticize it. Think about the idea that to know the good is to do the good, and think about the idea that some people are in a better position to know the truth than others.
5- Discuss the royal lie (parable of the metals). Explain what motivates the lie and how this relates to his political ideals. Support or criticize Plato.
6- Discuss the nature of justice. Is justice something absolute, is it merely a convention? What are the implications of either view? Do not stray too far from ideas raised in the text.
7- Discuss Plato's views of the roles of men and women in his ideal society. In your discussion, really engage with his argument.
8- Discuss and argue for or against Plato's idea that reason is superior to emotion and that a society should be ruled by reason.
9- Discuss Socrates' claim that the good person is a happy person. Argue for or against this idea. Explain well why he holds this view.
10- You can write about some other issue raised in the text. Make sure your paper has a single clear thesis and that you deal with some significant idea in The Republic.
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