Reference no: EM133797256 , Length: 5 pages
Assignment:
Write a 4 to 5 page essay on the following set of questions:
1) How does the philosopher Plato understand the nature of education as expressed in the selection from his dialogue, the Republic?
2) Do you think this Platonic conception of education has any relevance to education as you understand it, especially the kind of education provided by formal schooling? Explain.
3) What other important ways of thinking about education are there, and do you think they are incompatible or at least in tension with Plato's view, and why?
In answering these three questions, you must read carefully the entire document "Plato, Allegory of the Cave" that is attached to this unit and provide a concise, intelligent summary of what you take that conception of education to be. Do not use or quote from any other version or translation of this classic text.
Your essay must contain four quotations from this unit reading, and each quotation must contain at least one complete sentence: a quotation containing only a fragment of a sentence is not acceptable. A complete sentence begins with a word whose initial letter is capitalized, because it is the first word of the sentences, and ends with a period, question mark, or exclamation point.
Quotations you insert into your paper must be enclosed in quotation marks and provided with a brief informal reference to the source of the quotation (the citation of the source may be placed in parentheses following the quotation or in a footnote or an endnote).
One of the four quotations from "Plato, Allegory of the Cave" you choose to include in your essay must be from pp. 245-246, which is a crucially important part of this reading.
You must also draw on, and occasionally make clear and explicit reference to, the 30 minute BBC podcast on the nature of education.
In your essay, do not discuss Plato's view of justice or "social justice" or anything of that sort. Provide a brief outline of Plato's vision of the cave as contained in "Plato, Allegory of the Cave" and discuss its metaphorical meaning, which Plato himself (speaking through the character of Socrates) elucidates toward the end of that reading. Then answer the three questions of the essay prompt. (Again, you must also draw on, and occasionally make clear and explicit reference to, the 30 minute BBC podcast on the nature of education in the course of your essay.)
Your essay will be checked for plagiarism using SafeAssign plagiarism-detection software.
Submit your essay as a Word or PDF document only. Do not submit it as a "write text" submission. Your first and last name must be included in the file name of the document you submit.