Reference no: EM132369251

Ethics Paper - The Apology

Pick one of the following essays to write. Your paper must be 800 words-if it is under 800 words, I will ask you to rewrite it. Please refer to the syllabus for a discussion on word length and how quotations do not count towards the final word count. Your paper should be double spaced, have normal margins, and be in a standard font (Garamond, Times New Roman, etc.).

(1) You are on the jury at Socrates' trail. After hearing his defense, you are now called on to make a decision: is Socrates' guilty or innocent of the charges? In your essay, make sure to (a) articulate the charges that Socrates faces and why they are significant (b) examine why you do or do not find his arguments convincing. To do this, you will need to unpack his reasoning: how do Socrates' arguments work? What are the premises? Is each premise convincing? What are the conclusions? Do the conclusions logically follow from the premises?

In the introduction to your paper, present your decision with a clearly articulated main claim. The main claim should take this form "Although (Socrates or the prosecution) claims x, I have concluded that (he is guilty or not guilty) because x, y, z."

(2) In the Apology, Socrates famously declares "The unexamined life is not worth living" (38b). What does Socrates mean by this? What about the examined life makes it so valuable? What arguments does Socrates put forward to defend this claim? Do you find his arguments convincing?