Is the “unexamined life” worth living? Or, is the moral life the good life?
Socrates claims, after they have discovered justice in the city, that it (justice) is the requirement for the existence of the other virtues. How is this the case in the city, and how is this the case in the soul?
July 28, 2019Explain your understanding of idealism and your response to it. Do you accept idealism?
July 28, 2019Is the “unexamined life” worth living? Or, is the moral life the good life?
Question Description
Debate: Is the “unexamined life” worth living? Or, is the moral life the good life?
Write 6 One page essay
| Examined Life | Unexamined Life |
| Moral obligation; do the right/just thing | Personal interest; play to win |
PROMPT: Write a one page, single-spaced essay on the debate question.
| 75 Points: | CONTENT: Earn points by using assigned texts and our class discussions of them to compose your essay |
| 0-5 | Briefly define the “examined life” according to Socrates in “Apology.” |
| 0-5 | Take a side and state your position/thesis/conclusion; specify “the good life” as the criterion for your evaluation. |
| 0-5 | Incorporate rhetorical content from Plato’s “Allegory of the Cave.” |
| 0-5 | Make use of an example from the The 11th Hour in your argument. |
| 0-30 | Make at least one argument for your position supported by a “real life” experience. Make use of arguments presented in the assigned readings. |
| 0-25 | Make at least one argument against your opposition’s best critique of your position. Make use of arguments presented in the assigned readings. |
| 25 points: | FORM: Earn points by demonstrating skills in essay composition |
| 0-5 | Logic & Reasoning: Support your claims with good reasons, and examples and/or analogies. Avoid (unintentional) fallacies and contradictions. |
| 0-5 |
WELL-ORGANIZED & WELL-WRITTEN: STRIVE FOR A CLEAR, COHERENT, ORDERLY DEVELOPMENT OF THOUGHT. GIVE SPECIAL CONSIDERATION TO THE RELATION BETWEEN THE OPENING AND CLOSING LINES OF EACH PARAGRAPH AND THE ESSAY. |
| 0-5 | Thematic Integrity: Consider the relations among each of your points (trees) in the composition of your whole (forest) essay. Avoid digressions and (unintentional) stream of consciousness. It should hang together and make sense. |
| 0-5 | Original/Insightful: Springboard from the course material in the development of your essay submission. Let your light shine through the prompt’s framework. |
| 0-5 | Relevance for “real world” matters: Use personal experience, news of the day, social media, films, historical examples, etc. to illustrate and support your position. |
