Platonic Philosophy in Contemporary Culture

The struggle to live the ethical life is a struggle relevant for all times and places; this assignment is designed to get students to see how that struggle is manifesting in contemporary culture. Students are to write a short essay relating central concepts from Plato’s Republic to contemporary culture. Essays should first present Plato’s perspective on the issue using adequate textual support. Once this is accomplished, students must relate and compare his views to those of contemporary culture. Ultimately, if contemporary culture diverges from the views offered in the Republic students should say which is preferable and why. If a student intends to show that Socrates’ views are inadequate or deficient in some manner, the student must first demonstrate that he or she fully comprehends those views by proving that he or she knows why Socrates says what he says in the context of the book. Papers that are all response without first proving you understand what you are responding to will earn minimal credit.
• Students must incorporate textual support from the Republic into the body paragraphs in the form of direct quotations and cite them properly (MLA) AND  students must find and document adequate examples from contemporary culture that relate to the ideas discussed in the book and incorporate direct quotations into the body paragraphs from these secondary sources for supporting evidence . (American or International examples are both welcome.  Make sure to cite them.)

Example Paper Topics

-The relationship between wealth/poverty and character development/crime.

-The proper role of education: relate his model to the practices of a particular educational institution.

-The role of music in society: relate his model to the modern practices.

-The role of religion in society: relate his view as represented in the myth of metals to a religion.

-Wisdom and leadership: develop his understanding of wisdom and compare to how leaders are trained today in a specific contemporary institution.

-The role of women in society: compare his views to those of contemporary society.

-Choose a topic of your own.