Philosophy

You must answer this question in consideration of the notion that Plato is engaged in aesthetic politics. What is he trying to accomplish in, and by, his writing? You answers MUST consider MIMESIS. You might also consider some of the following: inspiration, the quarrel with poetry, myth, the importance of education, the role of the divine, reason, and pleasure. Your answers MUST include the REPUBLIC and LAWS and at least one of the ANCIENT commentators that are listed below.

Instructions:

Your essay should fall somewhere between 2500 and 3000 words, double spaced, 12 pt font. You must include the word count for your essay. NO OUTSIDE SOURCES ALLOWED; ONLY THE TEXTS THAT WE HAVE READ. That means only Repbulic books 2,3 & 10. That means only book #1 of PLATOS LAWS. We have not read anything outside of these so you cannot make reference to something that happened in book #3 of the laws or book 6 of the republic.

Remember to:

Advance an argument; “This essay will argue X”. Your essay must be thesis driven. You cannot possibly attend to everything regarding Platos aesthetic politics. Make a stand; stake your claim and support your thesis in an analytically rigorous fashion.

Support your claims with referene to the text: use stephanus pages in the case of plato ex (Rep.377d) and page numbers from your texts for everything else.

Define your terms. For example, several notions of mimesis are posited in our texts. Be clear regarding which one you are advancing; you may have to do some conceptual work via the texts so that your definition is clear. eg. “By mimesis I mean …

Be aware of who is speaking and whether any conclusion or agreement has been reached: socrates may claim one thing, adeimantus another, and glaucon may or may not agree, etc. Conclusions worked out in one section of the text may turn out to be provisional in light of a later section of the text etc.

A good example for a thesis may have something to do with education: eg..

Plato writes in order to educate citizens, this is what his political aesthic project is involved in. The laws book1- notion of educating citizens. This may be his political aestheic project.

Once the thesis is stated, make 3 claims
that support the thesis and an objection that takes the opposing side. Finally write a conclusion which reiterates the thesis.

BE VERY CLEAR. EXAMPLE : This essay will argue that. First, Second, Third. These points raise the obvious rejection of x..

I have provided lecture notes.