Philosophy

 
INSTRUCTIONS:
For this assignment, you are to read a primary source related to the content of the lecture in this module. Upon completion of the reading, you will need to complete a reading response journal. Reading response journals provide opportunities to practice understanding and evaluation of philosophical conceptions of the good life we consider in the course; these opportunities, along with feedback received, will prepare you for the analysis and evaluation component of the final project.
After reading the Symposium reflect on the ideas, arguments, conceptions, and perspectives Plato offers. Consider one of them that you find intriguing, compelling, or important to your understanding of the reading. In doing so, ponder the specific reasons for why you find it intriguing, compelling, or important. Possible considerations to contemplate is the strength of an argument in terms of its validity, its truthfulness in terms of evidence that can support it, its coherence with other ideas presented in the reading, its relatability to your own life (especially the specific values and beliefs you hold--not just a story about how one time...), and how it compares with other philosophical perspectives you have encountered elsewhere. Be sure to explain the argument you choose, define philosophical concepts that you use, and provide examples to support your points. Your explanation should include textual support with citations; any citation style can be used so long as the page number of the quote or paraphrase is provided. To earn full credit and have appropriate philosophical depth, your response should be approximately 400 words.
READING: Plato_Symposium.pdf

READING GUIDE: Plato_Symposium_Reading Guide.pdf
As many students may be unfamiliar with how to read philosophical texts, the preceding reading guide has been provided to give you insight into how philosophers read philosophical texts. Be sure to familiarize yourself with the kinds of questions philosophers ask, as reading guides will only be provided for this reading and the next one. After acquainting yourself with how to read as a philosopher using the reading guides for the first two reading assignments, you should be able to complete the remainder of the course readings on your own. 
GRADING POLICY:
There will be a total of 11 journal entries; the lowest score will be dropped when calculating the final grade. This results in 10 journal entries, each being worth 20 points or 2% of the final grade. 6 entries will be graded as credit/no credit and 5 entries will be graded according to the rubric. You will not know in advance which entries will be graded credit/no credit and which entries will be graded with the rubric; as such, entries should be completed with the expectation that the rubric could be used.
Use the rubric below to ensure your entry is complete.