| Instructor: Dr. Jeff Webb |
The Cave
Read the following texts:
Plato, Republic, Book VII, 514a-521b (a
short selection from the Republic often referred to as the "Allegory
of the Cave").
Booth, Wayne. The Craft of Research. "From Questions to Problems."
35-45.
Harvey, Gordon. Writing With Sources. "Misuse of Sources."
22-34. (Plagiarism is an extremely serious offense that can result in failure
of the assignment and even the course. Anytime you use someone else's ideas
or writing without proper acknowledgment, or use one of your own papers to satisfy
the requirements of more that one module, you are plagiarizing. Please review
the University
Scholars Programme Academic Honour Code, and familiarize yourself with the
Penalties for
Academic Code Violations.)
Preparation: Active Reading/ Asking Questions.
Your successful writing in this module will depend on a process
of active reading.
As you read the selection from The Republic, stop
frequently to underline key words and phrases, or anything
that strikes you as surprising or significant, or that raises
questions. Additionally, jot down your ideas and feelings
in the margins: what puzzles or surprises you? what do you
find interesting, moving, or beautiful? Write what you think
as you think it, without striving to "get it right." Don't
worry about producing finished thoughts, but do try to be
specific about what you think and feel and what in the text
makes you think and feel that way.
We call this form of active reading annotation. Of course
you don't have to write on the text itself to annotate it--you
could, for instance, use a separate journal. The important
thing is to discover a method of engaged reading that works
for you, that forces you to pay close attention to the text
and to notice details that you might not notice on a quick
reading.
Next, taking into account all of your observations, think
about what Plato is getting at with this story. Clearly, the
Allegory of the Cave is not merely a story of prisoners in
a cave. The story means something else (that's what makes
it an allegory). What does it mean? Be prepared to share your
ideas with the class during the next meeting. I look forward
to hearing your thoughts! See you then.
Further Reading (please contact
me if you find materials that should be added to this
list):
- Oxford
English Dictionary. This dictionary is especially helpful
for deciphering historical texts since it gives examples
of past usages of words along with etymologies.
- Overview of Greek
Philosophy from The Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy.
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