Assignment 2: Interpreting a Platonic Dialogue

This discussion assignment is designed to help you understand how to read and interpret a philosophical text. Read the assigned readings from the textbook and the online lectures on Socrates and Plato as background before completing the assignment.

Please complete the steps below and respond to all parts of the discussion by Saturday, December 19, 2015.

1. Read pages 36–46 from Plato’s Phaedo (Online Library resource). 
2. Present a 2–3-page interpretation of one of these passages in your own words. You are encouraged to cite the original text, the online lectures, and the course textbook as support for your interpretation. Remember to cite your sources (including the passage you are interpreting) in correct APA citation.
3. Compare your interpretation to at least one of the scholarly approaches outlined in the “How to Read Platonic Dialogue” online lecture.

Remember to comment on at least two of your colleagues’ posts and follow up to the instructor’s response to your post by the end of the course week. Here are some points to consider in your peer responses:

• How does your peer’s interpretation compare to your own and the scholarly approaches presented in the textbook and lectures?
• What kinds of big ideas and questions does Socrates pose/examine? Does he ever define these terms?
• How does Socrates demonstrate that a given idea/definition is inadequate? Why might he engage in such an examination of ideas?