(Coates)- Plato
Instructions :
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Part I: Text Analysis
Please read these texts and answer the questions that follow (2-3 sentences).
Text 1 ( Alcibiades I, 114b-c)
SOC: If someone knows something, don't you think he can persuade people about it one by one, as well as all together? Take the schoolteacher-don't you think he persuades people about letters individually, as well as collectively?
ALC: Yes.
SOC: And won't the same person be able to persuade people about numbers individually, as well as in groups?
ALC: Yes.
SOC: He would be a mathematician, someone who knows about numbers.
ALC: Certainly.
SOC: So won't you also be able to persuade an individual person about the things you can persuade a group of people about?
ALC: Probably.
1. What two craft analogies does Socrates make in Text 1?
2. What is the induction that Socrates draws from two examples in Text 1?
Text 2 ( Alcibiades I, 118c-d)
SOC: Really? Have you ever seen any expert who is unable to make others expert in what he knows? The person who taught you how to read and write-he had 1 expertise in his field, and he make you and anybody else he liked expert as well, didn't he?
ALC: Yes.
SOC: And will you, having learned from him, be able to teach someone else?
ALC: Yes.
SOC: And isn't it the same with the music teacher and the gymnastics teacher?
ALC: Certainly.
SOC: I think we can be pretty sure that someone understands something when he can show that he has made someone else understand it.
ALC: I agree.
3. What three craft analogies does Socrates make in Text 2?
4. What is the induction that Socrates draws from three examples in Text 2?
Part II: Analysis of Argumentative Strategies
Please answer the following questions (3-5 sentences).
5. What is a craft analogy ? Why does he use craft analogies in discussions about ethical virtue?
6. What is an induction from examples ? How are craft analogies used in an induction?
7. What is the elenchus ? Describe how it works as an argumentative strategy by answering the following points: What is the objective of the elenchus?
How does Socrates carry it out (that is, what are the steps involved in the elenchus)? What is the endpoint of the elenchus? What kind of positive knowledgedoes the elenchus produce for Socrates' interlocutor?
Part III: Essay Portion
Please read the following text: pages 180-186 (119a, "Very well. What do you propose for yourself?" through 124b "What you said really sounded true.") Then write a short essay (2-3 pages) answering the following questions. In your essay, please quote and/or cite passages from the text which support your answers.
8. Why does Socrates give a speech about the Persians and the Spartans? What specific advantages do the Spartans and Persians have over the Athenians and Alcibiades? Why should Alcibiades care about the Spartans and Persians?