PHIL 161: Socrates and Plato
Fall 2004; David O. Brink
Study Questions (final version)

The final exam will be held on Thursday, December 9, 8-11am in York 4080A.  The exam questions will be drawn from these study questions; there will be no "surprise" questions.  You will notice there is overlap among some of the study questions in different categories.  The exam itself will be closed-book, though you will be allowed to consult two pages (= two sides of paper) of notes during the exam (small fonts are ok).  You can study together, but you must write your own notes; essay questions cannot regurgitate material from the handouts verbatim.  I will hold a review session during our last class on Friday, December 3.  Please bring two empty blue books to the exam (don't even write your name on them).

SHORT ANSWER (approximately 20-50 words each; usually 1-3 sentences)

  1. What is eudaimonism?
  2. What is the craft analogy?
  3. What are the two interpretations of Euthyphro's third definition of piety?
  4. What is the parent-state analogy in the Crito?
  5. What is the persuade-or-obey doctrine in the Crito?
  6. What is akrasia, and what is Socrates's view about it?
  7. Explain what it means to say that the virtues are inseparable and unified.
  8. What three options does Socrates offer Protagoras about how to understand the relations among the virtues?
  9. What is a cognitive conception of virtue?
  10. What is hedonism?
  11. What is Meno's paradox?
  12. What is the theory of Recollection?
  13. What is the  "compresence of opposites"?
  14. What does Aristotle mean when he says that Plato separated the forms?
  15. What is the One over Many Assumption?
  16. Why is there a problem reconciling eudaimonism with the recognition of other-regarding virtues, such as justice?
  17. Thrasymachus challenges justice in two different ways.  Explain his two claims and how they are different.
  18. What's the difference between saying that justice is sufficient for happiness and saying that it is a dominant component of happiness?
  19. What is the tri-partition of goods in Republic ii?
  20. Explain the state-soul analogy at work in Republic iv.
  21. What is the (alleged) fallacy in Republic iv?
  22. Why should philosophers rule in the ideal state?
MEDIUM ANSWER (approximately 50-125 words each; usually a substantial paragraph)
  1. Why does Socrates think that Euthyphro's third definition of piety is defective?
  2. Explain one reason for thinking that Socrates might be committed to thinking that virtue is only instrumentally valuable.  What worry, if any, is there for this commitment?
  3. Why does Socrates doubt that virtue can be taught, and how does Protagoras think that these doubts can be answered?
  4. What is the "argument from opposites" in the Protagoras and how is it relevant to establishing the unity of the virtues?
  5. What kind of temporal bias does Socrates think occurs in putative cases of akrasia?
  6. Why are sensibles in flux, and why does this mean that nonsensible forms are necessary for knowledge?
  7. Explain Simmias's Attunement objection to the immortality of the soul.
  8. Explain Cebes's Cloak objection to the immortality of the soul and how it challenges Socrates's inference from Recollection to immortality.
  9. What is Thrasymachus's challenge to justice, what is Socrates reply, and how adequate is it?
  10. What is the "finger passage" (Rep 523a-525a), and what does it show about the role of sensible inadequacy and the range of forms?
  11. Explain Plato's division of the soul in Republic iv and the bearing of this division on his account of the virtues.
LONG ANSWER (approximately 175-300 words each; usually 2-4 blue book pages).
  1. In the Euthydemus why does Socrates think that wisdom is sufficient for happiness?  Do you find his argument compelling?
  2. Explain and assess Socrates's reasons for denying the possibility of weakness of will in the Protagoras.  What role does that argument play in defending other Socratic commitments?
  3. What is Meno's paradox, and what is Socrates's solution to it?  How, if at all, does the metaphysical doctrine of recollection solve the paradox?
Aristotle says that whereas Plato separates the forms, Socrates does not.  Explain what Aristotle means and assess his claim about either Socrates or Plato (but not both).
Explain and assess Cebes's Cloak objection to the immortality of the soul and Socrates's reply.
In Republic ii Glaucon and Adeimantus claim to be dissatisfied with Socrates's reply to Thrasymachus and restate his challenge.  What is their challenge, and what do they assume about justice?  How, if at all, do they modify Thrasymachus's position, and what significance does their challenge have for Socratic and Platonic ethics?
How does Plato's division of the soul in Republic iv figure in his account of justice and his reply to Glaucon and Adeimantus? How successful is this reply?
  1. Explain why Plato thinks that only philosophers should rule in the ideal state.  What assumptions does he make about knowledge?
  2. What does Plato think is true about the best sort of interpersonal love in the Symposium, and why is this sort of love a sort of surrogate for immortality?  How might these claims enable Plato to connect psychic-justice with conventional-justice?