Write a 5-6 paragraph essay in which you articulate and defend a thesis on the topic
of the obligations of the citizen toward the political community, according to Plato.
A thesis is a claim that is arguable—it is not obviously true, not obviously false, and not a
matter of opinion, but instead an original (i.e. your own) statement that you will support
with appropriate evidence and arguments. See the ‘handout on writing’ for further
guidance on thesis statements.
You cannot say everything there is to say about citizenship in Plato in one short paper.
Indeed, entire books have been written on citizenship in each of these thinkers. You don’t
need to read those books, and you don’t need to say everything on the topic: you do need
to select one argument that you find important to make about the obligations of the
citizen toward the political community, according to Plato.
For the purpose of this course, quotations from your readings constitute appropriate
evidence. Include a parenthetical citation (page number is sufficient) for each quotation
as demonstrated below.
• For example, your might write something like this: “Socrates emphasized that
good citizens must sometimes annoy and even disturb their fellow citizens in order
to spur them to become better, going so far as to claim in the Apology that he ‘was
attached to this city by the god—though it seems a ridiculous thing to say—as
upon a great and noble horse which was somewhat sluggish because of its size and
needed to be stirred up by a kind of gadfly’ (page 35).”
Your first paragraph should contain an introduction and a single sentence summarizing
your thesis. Underline your thesis sentence.
Your last paragraph should contain a conclusion that consolidates your thesis.
Each of your intermediate paragraphs should contain at least one quotation providing
evidence for your thesis, and appropriate argumentation demonstrating how the quotation
supports your thesis.
Here are the links from the sources. Uploaded another source as well. Use these sources only.
http://classics.mit.edu/Plato/apology.html
http://classics.mit.edu/Plato/euthyfro.html
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