Democratic Man

Question 1

Three questions regarding topics from Platos republic, need 2 full thorough paragraphs each.

1. In Book X of Plato’s Republic, Socrates says his major objection to tragic poetry is that it can corrupt even the very best of people. Setting aside the question of whether this provides sufficient reason for censorship, has Socrates shown (on pages 558-60 [605c-608c]) that it is possible for an institution like Greek theatre to corrupt almost anyone? In considering Socrates’ argument, please be sure to explain carefully and in detail the reasons Socrates gives for thinking that much of the poetry of his time could be harmful, drawing on what he says earlier in Book X and, to the degree necessary, on his discussion of the divided line of the visible and the intelligible, discussed at the end of Book VI (pages 459-63 [508b-511e]).

2. In Book VIII of Plato’s Republic Socrates discusses democracy and the democratic man, arguing that they are beset by similar, closely related problems. Is Socrates right that democracies suffer from these problems? Why or why not? Be sure to present the principle claims Socrates makes about democracies and “the democratic man”, explaining the reasons and evidence he gives to support these claims on pages 506-511 [557a-562d] and also the role his concept of what justice is in the individual and in the state (as set out in Book IV) plays here. 

3. 2. In Book V of Plato’s Republic, Socrates discusses the relationship between belief and knowledge, comparing things that can be known with things about which we can have only belief. Is he right that the kind of things that are knowable are not the same kind of things as those about which we can have only belief? Why or why not? Please be sure to present carefully and in detail the distinction between belief and knowledge on pages 428-433[476c-480a] and to explain whether this distinction is the same as the distinction between knowledge and true belief made in Meno, pages 92-95 [97a-99d].

Question 2

your job is to find and write about DOROTHEA LASKY’S main argument. Identify 2 persuasive strategies that she uses to support her argument, and analyze how these strategies might persuade the viewer to to support her major claim. describe the assumptions on which her argument is made. and evaluate the extent to which the viewer would find the argument convincing.

MLA Format.