Students write a eight to ten-page essay in which the student compares and contrasts the philosophical anthropology (view of humans) and the political philosophy (what a philosopher thinks is the best form of government) of Plato to that of Thomas Jefferson. Students must use assigned readings of primary sources and secondary sources to support their analysis. Students can access these sources through links in the Instructions for Writing Assignment under “Course Documents.”
Instructions for Writing Assignment:
Basic assignment
Write an eight to ten page essay in which you compare and contrast the philosophical anthropology and the political philosophy of Plato to that of Thomas Jefferson.
Approved sources
The primary source material for this assignment are
• The assigned readings in Plato’s Republic (under Course documents)
• Thomas Jefferson “The Declaration of Independence” (Declaration of Independence
• Thomas Jefferson “The First Inaugural Address” (First Inaugural Address )
The only approved secondary source for the Writing Assignment is an essay on the
U.S. History Online website:
• “Jeffersonian Ideology”
This is NOT a research project. Please rely on the sources listed and do not use any other sources.
Instead read all four source documents carefully. You will probably need to read them more than once to use them effectively in your paper.
For the purposes of this assignment
• “Compare” means explain ways their ideas are similar.
• “Contrast” means explain ways their ideas are different.
• “Philosophical anthropology” means a philosopher’s view of what it means to be human.
• “Political philosophy” is the philosopher’s understanding of the best form of government.
Support from sources; citations
Your assertions about Plato’s and Jefferson’s ideas must be supported by brief quotations or summaries in your own words of ideas from the primary and secondary sources. Be sure to use all four sources. Be sure to give a citation for all ideas you draw from the sources, whether direct quotation of restatements in your own words.
Use the MLA parenthetical format for citations. Here are three examples:
Example 1
Passage from the Republic
Then let us consider what will be their way of life, if they are to realize our idea of them. In the first place, none of them should have any property of his own beyond what is absolutely necessary; neither should they have a private house or store closed against anyone who has a mind to enter; their provisions should be only such as are required by trained warriors, who are men of temperance and courage; they should agree to receive from the citizens a fixed rate if pay, enough to meet the expenses of the year and no more . . . .
Student’s summary in her own words of what Plato says
In describing the Auxiliaries of his ideal city, Plato lays out a rather bleak picture of their lives. He writes that they will have no personal property, no homes, and no compensation for their work of guarding the city except to have their expenses paid (4).
Note that in the citation the student gives only the page number since the sentence already states that the ideas are from Plato. The full bibliographical entry for this source will appear at the end of the paper under Works Cited. Also note that in addition to summarizing Plato’s words, the student inserts her assessment (Plato lays out a rather bleak picture of their lives.) In a good paper the student goes beyond what the source says to state what he or she thinks about what the source says.
Example 2
Excerpt from a student paper
Concerning Jefferson, the authors of the on-line essay “Jeffersonian Ideology” list his many roles as “politician, statesman, diplomat, intellectual, writer, scientist, and philosopher.” They continue with their assessment of his influence: “No other figure among the Founding Fathers shared the depth and breadth of his wide-ranging intelligence.” (ushistory.org)
Note that the student begins by referring to the secondary source for this assignment. Continuing in his own words, he uses quote marks to designate which words come directly from the source. He weaves words from the source with his own words. This is a good way to capture both the specific content and the flavor of a source without using long direct quotations. Note that the citation points to the entry for this source on the Works Cited list at the end of the paper.
Example 3
Excerpt from a student paper
In his First Inaugural Address, newly elected President Jefferson spells out the blessings of the United States. The country, he asserts, is
Kindly separated by nature and a wide ocean from the exterminating havoc of one quarter of the globe; too high-minded to endure the degradations of the others; possessing a chosen country, with room enough for our descendants to the thousandth and thousandth generation; entertaining a due sense of our equal right to the use of our own faculties, to the acquisitions of our own industry, to honor and confidence from our fellow-citizens, resulting not from birth, but from our actions and their sense of them. . . .
Later historical events proved less favorable than his vision. No ocean now protects the U. S. from the chaos of the world. We no longer have room enough for the type of agriculture he envisioned when he authorized the Louisiana Purchase. However, the final phrases about honoring and having confidence in one’s fellow citizens continues to ring true down to our own time, as evidenced by President Obama’s Farewell Address in which he urged much the same positive response from us today.
Note that the long quotation is inset five spaces on the left and right margins – as required for all quotes longer than four lines. There is no citation since the student already states the quotation comes from Jefferson’s First Inaugural Address; documents as short as the First Inaugural and the Declaration of Independence do not have page numbers. This student chooses to add her commentary on Jefferson’s speech in the form of a reference to President Obama’s farewell address. It does not require a citation because it is recent enough for it to be common knowledge.
Works Cited
Each source that is cited in your paper must have an entry under Works Cited on the last page. Insert a page break at the end of the last sentence of your paper to force the top of the next page; Center the title Works Cited and then use a hanging indent for all entries. Since the entry for Plato’s Republic requires a number of elements and may be confusing, I have constructed what I consider an adequate entry for this source:
Plato. The Republic. Trans. Benjamin Jowett. Retrieved from The Internet Classics Archive by Daniel C. Stevenson, Web Atomics, 1994-2000. Page numbers refer to the text as presented in the on-line version for the course Phi 1010 “Introduction to Philosophy,” Section 021 Summer 2018, Metropolitan State University of Denver.
Students should prepare their own entries for the other sources and list them all in alphabetical order.
Other important details:
The paper is to be nine to ten pages long, double spaced, one inch margins. 12 point font, Arial or Times New Roman. It must be submitted through the course Blackboard site under “Assignments.” All students are required to revise their paper at least once, and all revisions are to be submitted through the course Backboard site. This assignment will not be accepted any other way.
Further hints
Give your paper a creative title that suggests the direction the paper will take.
After you first mention Thomas Jefferson, use only Jefferson, not his full name.
For effective writing
• Be concise.
• Do not use slang.
• Do not use contractions.
Avoid the verbs “says” and “is” or “are.” Instead, use strong verbs in the simple present tense except when reporting historical facts. Here are some examples of strong verbs:
• asserts that
In the Declaration of Independence, Jefferson asserts the equality of all persons.
• claims He claims that the people should govern, not kings.
• argues that
In the Republic Plato argues that only philosophers can govern.
• discusses
The authors of the essay “Jeffersonian Ideology” discuss Jefferson’s agrarian democracy.
• forgets Jefferson forgets to include women in his democracy.
• ignores Plato ignores the presence of slaves in his society.
• realizes Today Americans realize the strength of Jefferson’s ideas.
• places Plato places the Philosophers Kings at the top of society.
Final suggestions for writing an A paper
Use the sources to support what you say. However, in the long run this is your paper. Most of it (probably 2/3 or more) should be your analysis. One way to achieve this goal is to open and close each paragraph with you own thoughts, not quotations or reference to the sources’ ideas. To do so successfully, you must organize your thoughts. Do not jump around from one topic to the next. Make your paper flow smoothly and build to a coherent conclusion.
Rubric
The Writing Assignment will be graded according to the following rubric:
Possible points
Grasp of Plato’s ideas 15
Grasp of Jefferson’s ideas 15
Comparison 15
Contrast 15
Use of primary sources 15
Use of secondary source 15
Mechanics (Grammar, spelling, word choice, correct citations, etc.) 10
Total 100
See the next page for an example of how the beginning of your paper should look.
Student’s Name
Phi 1010 Introduction to Philosophy
Date
Title (centered)
The body of the paper will look like this. Double spaced, 12 point font Times New Roman, indent first line of each paragraph.
Continue to indent each paragraph. Do not double double the space between paragraphs; just use a regular double space like the rest of your paper.
Insert a page break at the end to force the top of the next page.
Works Cited (centered)
An entry here for each of the approved sources for this paper. See above for a correct entry for Plato’s Republic. Create your own entries for the other sources using MLA format. Notice how this paragraph has a “hanging indent.” Format your entries the same way.