Paper-Socrates

History 4A: Paper #3: Socrates

De Anza College

Read Plato’s Apology and Crito. (There are many translations available; these are free translations from Project Gutenberg. Whichever translation you use, you must provide a reference in your list of references, and proper citations in your paper.)

Who was Socrates and why was he on trial? What is the historical context of his trial? What is his defense? Why does he not escape, as his student Crito suggests? What does Socrates mean when he says, “No evil can happen to a good man, either in life or after death”? Is that true? Can you think of a modern analogy to Socrates’ stance?

Use examples from the text to explain your answer.

You must cite your sources, and list them at the end of your paper as a List of References. Please do not “borrow” material from the web without providing proper citations and enclosing direct quotations in quotation marks. Otherwise, it will be considered plagiarism, and the penalties will be severe.

Typed, double-spaced, 12-point type, 600-800 words. Use MLA formatting.

Please e-mail as an attachment to the instructor at crjackson81@gmail.com before midnight on the date due. Note: before sending the assignment, you must rename the file in the following format: LastnameFirstname-papernumber. Example: JacksonChristopher-paper1.doc. If the file is not properly named, it will not be accepted. If the file cannot be opened with MS-Word, it will not be accepted. Please put the course number and the file name in the subject line of the e-mail. For example: Subject: History 17B JacksonChristopher-paper1. That allows me to better keep track of the several hundred papers that I received during the quarter.

For help with MLA formatting, consult the Purdue Owl (on-line writing lab).