Fall 2025: Primer on Plato Quiz

Why did Plato reject Sophistry and embrace dialectic instead? Do you agree with the power he attributes to dialectic, and do you have any personal experiences that either support his view or refute it? Think about the face-to-face conversations in which you’ve been engaged over the last twenty-four hours. Do any of them qualify as either Sophistry or dialectic? Give details to support your answer. 

One of the key ideas we will discuss in our reading of the Myth of the Winged Soul is that of the Forms. Briefly describe the shift in Plato’s thinking during his Late Period of writing, especially concerning the Forms. Then describe in more detail the Form of a literature and composition classroom. After making your vision of the purest, most perfect version of the classroom, including the way it feels to be there and the kinds of interactions that take place there, describe the best way to “work with what you’ve got to create a harmonious society.” Write three to five paragraphs to answer this question. 

If you could choose three main themes about which to think deeply and write prolifically, would they be the same three Plato chose? Explain your reason for either including or disregarding each of his three themes in your own ideal education, assuming you could fashion your education to be anything you wanted it to be.