Exam 8: Plato Apology

Macaulay tells us that "I know of no rational objection; nor can I think of any expedient to remove the well grounded apprehensions of the different interests which compose a commonwealth, than a ______________________________ of the whole people, a circumstance which appears very peculiarly necessary in a mixed form of government, where the democratic part of the constitution will ever be in danger of being overborne by the energy attending on its higher constituent parts."

According to Wollstonecraft, "Moralists have unanimously agreed, that unless virtue be nursed by liberty, it will never attain due strength."

According to Aristotle, "When several families are united, and the association aims at something more than the supply of daily needs, the first society to be formed is the clan."

Explain what Hobbes means when he says that in the state of nature, "The notions of right and wrong, justice and injustice, have no place there. Where there is no common power, there is no law." Do you agree with Hobbes? Explain your answer.

Explain what Wollstonecraft means when she says, "Moralists have unanimously agreed, that unless virtue be nursed by liberty, it will never attain due strength-and what they say of man I extend to mankind, insisting, that in all cases morals must be fixed on immutable principles; and that the being cannot be termed rational or virtuous, who obeys any authority but that of reason."

According to Appiah, "The notion that what has held the United States together historically over its great geographical range is a common culture, like the common culture of a traditional society, is not in our best interest."

According to Appiah, American civilization "must have a certain ..."

Explain what Hobbes means when he says, "The mutual transferring of right is that which men call contract. There is a difference between transferring of the right to the thing, and transferring of the thing itself. The thing may be delivered together with the translation of the right, as in buying and selling with money, or exchange of goods or lands, and it may be delivered some time after." Do you agree with Hobbes? Explain your answer.

According to Wollstonecraft, "Let woman share the rights, and she will emulate the virtues of man; for she must grow more perfect when emancipated, or justify the authority that chains such a weak being to her duty."

In the reading, Socrates says, "young men of the richer classes, who have not much to do, come about me of their own accord; they like to hear the pretenders examined, and they often imitate me, and examine others themselves; there are plenty of persons, as they soon enough discover, who think that they know something, but really know little or nothing: and then those who are examined by them instead of being angry with themselves are ..."

Explain what Aristotle means when he says, "Every state is a community of some kind, and every community is established with a view to some good." Can a community be established that is contrary to Aristotle's view? Explain your answer.

According to Mill, "the people, consequently, may desire to oppress a part of their number; and precautions are as much needed against this, as against any other abuse of power; thus the revolt of an oppressed class is now generally included among the evils against which society requires to be on its guard."

Rorty tells us that, "Liberals of Forster's time knew as well as the Marxists that the soul of history-if not of the novel or of humanity-is economic, but they thought that history had to be guided from the top down, by the gentlefolk."

Explain what Dewey means when he says, "Belief in equality is an element of the democratic credo."

Macaulay tells us that "That the people have often abused their power, it must be granted; for they have often sacrificed themselves and their posterity to the wanton will of an individual, and this is the foundation of all the regal tyrannies which have subsisted in society."

Mill says, "This, then, is the appropriate region of human liberty. It comprises, first, the inward domain of consciousness; demanding liberty of conscience, in the most comprehensive sense; liberty of thought and feeling; absolute freedom of opinion and sentiment on all subjects, practical or speculative, scientific, moral, or theological."

According to Hobbes, "Whoever transfers any right transfers the means of enjoying it as far as it lies in his power. As he that sells land is understood to transfer whatever grow upon it. Nor can he that sells a mill turn away the stream that drives it. And they that give to a man the right of government in sovereignty are understood to give him the right of levying money to maintain soldiers, and of appointing magistrates for the administration of justice."

Explain what Hobbes means when he says, "Justice and injustice are none of the faculties either of the body, nor mind. If they were, they might be in a man that were alone in the world, as well as his senses and passions. They are qualities that relate to men in society, not in solitude." Do you agree with Hobbes? Explain your answer.

Explain what Rorty means when he says, "Liberals of Forster's time knew as well as the Marxists that the soul of history-if not of the novel or of humanity-is economic, but they thought that history had to be guided from the top down, by the gentlefolk."

In the reading, Crito worries that many people "will believe that I might have saved you if I had been willing to give money, but that I did not care. Now, can there be a worse disgrace than this-that I should be thought to value money more than the life of a friend?" To which Socrates responds, "But why, my dear Crito, should we care about the opinion of the many?"