Phil 1040G (001) Ring of Gyges Reading Response
Due Date: February 11, 2021 (25% of final grade)
Papers to be uploaded to OWL under the relevant assignment by 6:00 p.m. Eastern Time on the due date. Word .doc or .docx documents, please.
Late penalty: The late penalty is 3 marks per day (from 100) for one week. After one week, zero. Penalties may be waived for 48 hours in the event of an SRA or longer (but not indefinitely) if an accommodation request is received through your academic counselling office indicating documentation supporting medical or compassionate consideration. In either case new deadlines will be established in consultation with the professor and the same penalties will apply if they are missed.
Assignment: Your paper is worth 25% of your final grade. Please write a 1000-word paper and do not exceed the word limit by more than 100 words; include a word count at the end. Use double- spacing, adequate margins, and Times New Roman, Cambria, Arial or Calibri 12 point. The topics are quite focused, giving you an opportunity to engage thoughtfully with course readings. IMPORTANT: Your paper should demonstrate an understanding of relevant views and arguments of the author(s) cited in the question you choose to answer and show an appreciation of opposing views. Please cite your sources in endnotes (these can go beyond your word limit) and include a complete bibliography (even if you use only one source). Sources other than those that we studied are permitted but are neither necessary nor required (nor even encouraged) for writing a good paper.
Write your paper as a response to one of the following questions:
1. Towards the end of the assigned reading, “The Ring of Gyges” (from Book 2 of Plato’s Republic), Glaucon proposes that there is only one way to tell whether the perfectly unjust or perfectly just person is the happier of the two. Explain what he has in mind and why he thinks that is the only way to determine whether justice or injustice is truly the preferable path. In the context of the two-page reading assigned for class, what is Glaucon’s overall point? Do you agree with his reasoning? Explain and defend your answer.
Phil 1040G (001) Ring of Gyges Reading Response