Second Paper Assignment
Paper Requirements:
Four-five pages, Times New Roman, font size 12, double spaced. A hard paper version of the
paper must be handed in on the day that it is due in class. If the paper is late the student will be docked
5 points for each day that it is late. Late papers can be submitted via email. If you submit your paper
by email, please save the file as .doc not .docx. Only papers late due to a documented emergency will
not have points docked.
Plagiarism will not be tolerated. Any student who plagiarizes will receive a zero for that assignment
and the plagiarism will be reported to the Academic Integrity Committee, such reports could
potentially result in the student’s expulsion. Do not Plagiarize. If you are having trouble with an
assignment, then email me or visit office hours instead.
Office Hours: Thursday, 10-12 in the Starbucks in the Union
Due Date: Wednesday, April 20th (last class)
Paper Format: This Paper has Six parts
Choose a value which is important to you, how you live your life, and how you interpret the world. Be
sure to formulate this value as a statement which indicates how you value it.
Ex: Friendship is good/Friendship is the most important thing/How good one is can be judged
by how many friends one has/etc
1) Draw on Laches to explain why Socrates believes that it is important to clearly define important
things (such as virtues). Include at least one quotation.
2) State and define the value you have chosen. Then criticize this value in a Socratic style and attempt
to form a new definition of your value which takes this criticism into account.
3) Explain why Descartes chooses to doubt things. Why is it important and useful to employ
systematic doubt? What does he seek to achieve? Include at least one quotation.
4) Following Descartes’ model in the first meditation, find things which will allow you to doubt the
importance of the value you have chosen, or even to assign it a negative value rather than a positive
one.
5) What does Nietzsche say about the connection between philosophers and the philosophy that they
put forward? Among other sections you may think specifically of §6 and §187. Include at least one
quotation.
6) Follow Nietzsche’s suggestion and analyze your value. What do you aim at in striving for it?
What drive is behind it? Why did you choose it? Where did this drive come from in your personal
history? Does this value ultimately hurt or help you--is it life affirming or life denying?
Grading Criteria
You will be graded on:
-How well you have understood what each philosopher aims at in 1, 3 and 5.
-Proper use of citations to support your response to 1, 3 and 5.
-How well you apply the philosophical ideas to your chosen value.
-The quality of your writing.
You will automatically lose points if you:
