Sample Essay Proposals

From David Hitchcock

http://www.humanities.mcmaster.ca/~hitchckd/sampleessayproposal.htm

I.

1) In trying to get Euthyphro to provide him with an acceptable definition of piety, Socrates seems to be pleased with the suggestion that it is a form of service to the gods. Unlike each of Euthyphro's other attempts, Socrates does not argue against this claim, and is disappointed when Euthyphro changes the subject. This may therefore be a starting point for a definition of piety that Socrates would not only accept, but perhaps in fact lived by, and defended in the Apology. Unfortunately, Euthyphro cannot say what the work of the gods is that requires the service of humans. The reader is left without knowing what Socrates believed to be the work of the gods, and therefore without an answer to the queston: (2) What is Socrates' definition of piety?

Using evidence from the Euthyphro and the Apology, I will show that although there appears to be no positive definition of piety in the Euthyphro, one is, in fact, underlying. I will show what this definition is, how it can be understood from Socrates' dialogue with Euthyphro and how it can be reconciled with Socrates' speeches in the Apology.

II.

(1) In Plato's Protagoras Socrates is depicted as holding a hedonistic conception of what is right for human beings. However, in many of his other dialogues Plato emphatically denies that the submission to bodily pleasures will yield any positive results. In fact, he treats bodily desires as merely a hindrance which prevents the human soul from attaining its true aim. (2) So, is hedonism a view held by Plato (or Socrates), or is he simply adopting it in order to reach his desired conclusion? Furthermore, if hedonism is not a position held by Plato, are the resulting conclusions justifiable (i.e. that virtue is knowledge) or does Plato's dissent from the aforementioned doctrine undermine the conclusions reached by its acceptance?

III.

(1) In the Nicomachean Ethics Aristotle states that happiness is the ultimate goal towards which we direct all of our actions. He also argues that friendship is a necessary condition of this happiness, and categorizes it as a virtue. Some philosophers have criticized Aristotle's philosophy of friendship as being egoistical, and still others have taken the view that Aristotle's ethics are altruistic. In this essay I will explore the idea of friendship as a virtue and a necessary component of happiness. (2) Is Aristotle's philosophy of friendship inherently selfish, and is it appropriate to define it in the seemingly anachronistic terminology of egoism and altruism?

IV.

(1) In Plato's early dialogues Socrates frequently claims that he does not know the answers to questions he asks, especially questions of the form "What is X?" But he is very skilled at refuting answers other people give to these questions, knowing just what admissions to elicit to bring out a contradiction in their beliefs. And there are common threads in his refutations, threads which culminate towards the end of this group of dialogues in Socrates' explicit endorsement of the so-called Socratic paradoxes, e.g. that virtue is wisdom, that the virtues are one, that nobody willingly does evil, that it is worse to do than to suffer injustice. (2) How, if at all, can one reconcile Socrates' skill at refuting other people's answers, and his positive beliefs, with his claim not to know the answers to his "what is X?" questions?