Questions We Can Help You To Answer

Paper instructions:

In the Crito, Socrates attempts to convince Crito that accepting his friends’ help and escaping from jail in order to avoid the death penalty is unjust.  Please explain the arguments given by Socrates in the passage running from 48c5-54e. Please provide a philosophical critique of some aspect or aspects of these arguments.

1) an introductory paragraph which includes a thesis statement, 2) an exegetical section where explain the arguments, 3) a critical section where analyze the evidence offered by the philosopher in support of the conclusions, and 4) a brief conclusion stating what have argued in paper.

1. DO NOT USE SECONDARY SOURCES, including internet sites, in writing this paper.  The point of the assignment is for you to engage directly with the primary text.
2. The text must be properly and thoroughly referenced using the Stephanus numbers in the margins of the text, e.g. 337d4.  You may use footnotes or you may simply enclose the relevant citation in brackets at the end of the sentence in the body of the text.  Paraphrases as well as direct quotes should be referenced.
3. Each question is based on a specific section of the text, but note that you are responsible for knowing any relevant definitions or accounts from other sections of the text that inform the specifically assigned passages.
4. Each question is based on material that was not covered in detail during lecture; where the questions overlap with the lecture material you must build your account directly from the text and you must provide exact referencing for these points.
5. Papers will be graded according to the accuracy, completeness, and focus of your exegetical section and according to the philosophical sophistication and clarity of your critique.  You will also be graded on organization, spelling, grammar, and writing style.