PSCI 220 Midterm exam info:

The exam will be Friday, October 21. You'll have to answer two multi-part essay questions, one
on the Apology, one on the Ethics. Mostthough perhaps not allof what I'll ask about on the
exam will be drawn from the following topics. If you have any questions, do not hesitate to come
to my office, or email, or call me at home (740-392-0051).
Apology: (1) According to the Ap, why is the city hostile to philosophy in general and to
Socrates in particular? What is Soc's strategy in the Apology for minimizing the hostility to
philosophy? (2) What are the charges of Soc's first accusers? Why does he bring them up? How
did they arise? How well does he answer them? (3) What are the charges of S's present
accusers? How well does he answer them? (4) What does the Ap tell or show us about S's view
of (a) politics, (b) democracy, (c) punishment, (d) virtue, (e) justice, (f) the good life, (g)
philosophy, (h) primary and secondary education, (i) death, and (j) the gods?
Ethics: (1) happiness (including (a) the common opinions about it that Ari rejects and (b) how
Ari's approach to the question differs from Hobbes'), (2) the meaning of "moral virtue" and
"intellectual virtue" (I don't expect you to be able to say much about the latter), (3) how people
develop moral virtue, (4) the names and definitions of the eleven moral virtues (I won't expect
your definitions to be precise in the case of the virtues we didn't discuss in class), (5) whether the
courageous man (a) feels fear, (b) takes pleasure in a courageous death, (c) regards a noble death
as good or bad for himself (i.e. as a contribution to his happiness or as a sacrifice of his
happiness), (6) how Machiavelli criticizes Ari's teaching about generosity, (7) how greatness-ofsoul and justice are both, in a sense, "complete" moral virtue, and how they differ from each
other, (8) the differences between the great-souled man's and the just man's views of ruling, (9)
the indications that the great-souled man isn't happy, (10) why he isn't happy, (11) how he fails to
understand himself fully (or lacks self-knowledge), (12) what the deficiencies of the great-souled
man's life show us about moral virtue (you'll find this discussed in your notes, but I also expect
you to do some thinking on your own), (13) how reflection on the unhappiness of the great-souled
man may lead us to study justice, (14) the gentleman's attitude towards the gods.
Here are the instructions that will appear on the exam itself:
GENERAL ADVICE: Make arguments, not assertions. Whenever possible, support your
arguments with evidence and examples drawn from the texts. Try not to repeat yourself.
ANSWER THE QUESTIONS AS FULLY AS POSSIBLEWITH AS MUCH PRECISION
AND DETAIL AS YOU CAN OFFERBUT DO NOT WASTE TIME DISCUSSING THINGS
UNRELATED TO THE QUESTIONS. Be sure to distinguish between what Socrates and
Aristotle actually said and what they merely implied, and, of course, between what they said and
what I said. DO NOT WASTE TIME WRITING INTRODUCTIONS AND CONCLUSIONS TO
YOUR ESSAYS.