Paper details
On PLATO’S EUTHYPHRO
All students are required to submit an essay, of approximately 5-6 pages (it should be no shorter than 5 full
pages!), which must be submitted online by Dec. 08 at 10 pm. Papers received after this deadline will be
penalized one full grade for each day late. The essay should be clearly and coherently written, and it
should be devoid of grammatical and typographical errors.
The essay should consist of a critical analysis of a philosophical issue/text. I have put on Canvas (on the
modules page, at the very top), 13 readings. You need to select one of these readings for your paper. Your
task in the essay is to present and explicate the position that the author takes in this reading, explaining
carefully the philosophical issues that are at stake, and the arguments that the author uses to justify his
position.
Keep in mind that the purpose of this assignment is to give you practice in analyzing philosophical texts.
Thus your essay should explain what is happening in the reading that you choose. Do not merely give me a
summary of the text! Pretend that you have to teach this text to your classmates, i.e., you have to explain
clearly and intelligently in your own words just what the author is trying to say, and you should also make
some comments about the merits and value of the author’s position.
You will also need to “sign-up” for a topic; this will done on a “first-come, first-served” basis. Once you have
signed up for a topic, you may switch topics only if the other topic is available (no more than four students
may sign up for any single topic). So, think before you sign up for a topic! I will not accept a paper from you
unless you have signed up for that topic.
Please note: for this essay you are not to use outside sources, and under no circumstances are you to
pass off other people’s ideas (or work) as you own–the deliberate attempt to do this is plagiarism, and it will
result in a failing grade for the assignment.