PHIL 2306.
Paper One Ideas (for either Plato’s Meno or Aristotle’s Nicomachean Ethics)
Below is not a list of formalized paper topics; rather, these ideas are meant to inspire a
paper where you otherwise might not be inspired. This is not meant to be an exhaustive
list. If you have been inspired in the course of class discussion or while reading the texts,
please work to develop that idea. Come see me/e-mail me well in advance of the due
date if you need assistance constructing your argument!
SOCRATES
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Can Socrates’ view of knowledge (particularly his theory of recollection) work
independently of his assumption of the existence of an immortal soul?
Without spelling out a clear definition of virtue in the Meno, does Socrates have
an argument or at least a worthwhile lesson?
It could be claimed that Socrates was “leading the witness” when walking the boy
through a geometry problem. If you can show that he was actually “feeding” the
boy the answers in the questions, you can show that Socrates did not provide an
example or proof of the theory of recollection. You could stop there in your
paper, or go on to suggest a possible example (better constructed than Socrates’)
or you could go on to argue that there are no possible examples. If you want to
defeat Socrates’ theory of recollection, you would have to find a counterexample;
i.e. you would have to provide an example of learning new information/ learning
“from scratch”.
For Socrates, it is sufficient to know the right thing to do in order to do the right
thing. In order to claim that this is not a viable position, you must first explain his
view from his position in order to identify its flaws or holes.
ARISTOTLE
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Aristotle’s founding premise in the Nicomachean Ethics is that everything in
nature has a purpose (nothing in nature was created in vain). Does his ethical
theory work without this assumption?
Even if we do accept Aristotle’s teleological humanistic framework, does it
follow that there is a single goal (“happiness”) that is the end of all our activities?
Are there not other worthwhile goals? (Might religion come into play here?)
Can you accept Aristotle’s unforgiving view that if we lack the proper
upbringing, during which the right character traits must be inculcated in us
through habituation, then we will simply not be happy adults?
Can you accept Aristotle’s view that our happiness is at least partially tied to
luck/fate/fortune? that we have to have our basic needs met before we can be
virtuous/pursue the rational life?
Are you convinced that (given that you accept the teleological framework) to
reason is our purpose on earth?