Make-Up ARP's
 

Make-up papers may be handed in any time during the semester.  Please concentrate on doing the current assignment and only work on make-ups when your current work is under control.

1. Read the Protagorus.  In this dialogue Protagoras tells a story that explains and justifies his profession (starting at 319b), near the end of this story he switches to "argument" concerning teaching virtue (324d-e). Develop an thesis that explains and evaluates Protagoras' argument related to teaching virtue and Socrates' response to this argument.  (Replacement for # 2 or # 4)

2. Review Chapter 3 in your humanities text, and evaluate how Classical Greece is presented.  Here are some questions that you might consider:
a. What philosophical and cultural presuppositions do you see in the text? 
b. Do the authors of the text draw cultural conclusions for which they don't offer proof? 
c. Do they fail to include things that you believe should be included?  (Replacement for # 3 or # 5)

3. Given the conception of justice put forward in Plato’s dialogues, how would Plato have viewed Aeschylus’ presentation of Prometheus in Prometheus Bound?  (You might want to imagine a conversation between Prometheus and Socrates.) (Replacement for # 3 or # 4)

4.  Is Aristotle a proponent of democracy?  Explain his reasoning for or against this form of government, and offer at least two developed criticisms of his argumentation.  Be sure to address what democracy meant in the Greek context.  (Replacement for # 6 or #7)

5. What values are implicit or explicit in The Golden Ass?  Offer an interesting  and appropriate comparison with one of the philosophers that we have studied.  (Replacement for # 8 or for a paper on Plato or Aristotle if you are emphasizing one of the other of these philosophers.)

6.  Review Chapter 5 in your humanities text, and evaluate how Ancient Rome is presented.  Here are some questions that you might consider:
a. What philosophical and cultural presuppositions do you see in the text? 
b. Do they fail to include things that you believe should be included?  
c. Do the authors of the text seem to admire the Roman Empire?  Do you?  Why or why not? (Replacement for # 8 or # 9)

7.  Construct and defend an interesting thesis that offers a comparison between Prometheus Bound and the Book of Job. (Replacement for # 3 or # 9)

8.  Consider the portion of the The Perfect State by Al Farabi that you read.  What is the relation of what you have read to politics?  That is, why do we need to begin a discussion of just political structures with an analysis of God's nature?  What are the implications of beginning this way?  How does this compare to one or more of the philosophers that we have studied?  Write a paper in which you defend a thesis that addresses these questions and offers a critical evaluation of this text. (Replacement for # 10 or # 11)

9.  Write an essay that relates the arguments about the proper relation between philosophy and religion as this is developed in Aquinas and Ibn Rushd.  (Replacement for #11 or 13)

10.  Review Chapters 9 and 10 in your humanities text, and evaluate how Medieval Europe is presented.  Here are some questions that you might consider:
a. What philosophical and cultural presuppositions do you see in the text? 
b. Do they fail to include things that you believe should be included?  
c. What is the attitude of the writers of the text towards Christianity?  Is it given a different sort of treatment than other religions?   (Replacement for # 12)