Philosophy of Law

Discuss BOTH of the following ideas in your response.  Your response should be at least two complete paragraphs in length. Please post your response by Wednesday evening.

I. Several weeks ago, Mr. Dvecka explained that part of Socrates' larger point in the Apology was to argue that laws be written down so that people could reason logically from a set of known laws. In 1776, The United States followed Socrates' suggestion by writing a constitution.  This constitution is meant to capture the "general will" that Americans share when they implicitly agreed to live together in society. What is the relationship between the written constitution and the American "general will"?  In what way does the act of writing down the laws affirm a society's belief in a "general will"?

II. Even though the United States has a written constitution, there are still problems of interpretation.  Name at least one "problem" that we discussed in class and explain why complications in law still arise, even though the laws and constitution are written.

Wax vs. "Wax"

Today we discussed how what we see is different than what the mind perceives it to be. Look for a moment at an object near you. Describe its physical properties. For example, take a piece of paper. When you look at a piece of paper, do you see "paper"? Or do you see some kind of a white rectangular shape? Explain the difference between seeing an object with your eyes and judging what the object is with your mind, or, more simply, the difference between the object you see and what the object is (was that simpler?).

Don't forget to include your name and to use legible grammar!

Education

Today, we had a short discussion of of the Sun Analogy, the Line Analogy and how smashing them together came to make the Allegory of the Cave. How does analogies and the Allegory connect to the idea of education having been a wanted experience instead of a forced experienced? Be sure to explain by connecting back to the different aspects of the analogies and the Allegory.

Caves.

Imagine you were for some reason chained in a cave for your whole life, and was most unfortunately, facing a wall. When things would pass by, you would only see their shadows.

Most people wouldn't be satisfied with this. These people are called philosophers.

Would you be satisfied with simply seeing shadows passing by? If you would, explain why. If not, please elaborate, and defend your argument.

What are the possible benefits to seeing on the shadows, if any, and the benefits of seeing what is causing the shadows.

How is the Allegory of the cave related to the metaphor of the sun, and the analogy of the divided line?

The Sun Analogy & The Line Analogy

In recent classes, we have discussed two analogies used in Book VI of the Plato Republic - the sun analogy and the line analogy. We began talking about forms and they've appeared in both analogies. Think about what a form is, and how they are represented in Socrates/Glaucon dialogue. Explain in simple terms the sun analogy and the line analogy. Then, specifically describe how the forms are represented in each analogy.

The past two classes should have brought you closer to answering the question, "Why do philosophy?" If you've got some extra time, think about the forms that Socrates describes and why they're so important to philosophers and philosophy in general.

Please remember to use proper grammar and to include your name so we know who you are!

Staying in Prison

Today, we discussed that Socrates' decision to stay in prison until his execution was right and just. How does Socrates' idea of staying in prison connect to the idea of how leaving prison will harm the people of Athens? Explain and use specific examples from Crito.

The Court as a Theater

On Thursday, Mr. Devecka, our guest speaker from Yale, spoke to us about how a court is like a theatre in that it is like a play. The defendant becomes like an actor and recites lines he memorizes beforehand. The "scriptwriters" were called logographoi or sophists. Whether you won or lost the case depended on how entertained the jury was. However, Socrates refused to get a logographus and went out there improvising everything he said. Do you agree with Socrates' method of handling the situation? Why do you think Socrates refused to take the easy way out? Take specific examples from the text and explain them.

Remember to put your name and to use correct grammar!