POLB72 Introduction To Political Theory

To submit your paper, select “assignments” from the Quercus course page then “Take-Home Midterm Exam.” You may upload your exam as a single .pdf or .docx file after agreeing to have your paper screened by plagiarism detection software.Weight:20% of final gradeInstructions: Compose two short essays (700-800 words) in response to two of the four prompts listed below. Clearly identify the questions you are responding to and submit your answers in a single document.

 

You will be evaluated on your ability to:

1) Establish a clear thesisposition that responds to all aspects of the question.

2) Identify the problem the author is addressing in the work

3) Develop a clear reconstruction of the argumentthe author provides to solve/address their problem

4) I dentifying key passages/concepts to support your reconstruction and provide careful/close interpretation of their meaningEssay

 

1)Drawing on both Plato’s Republic and the Apology, explain why Socrates thinks that genuine philosophical knowledge is not about filling upthe soul with knowledge but with turning the soul towards a different – more just – way of life. Why is conversion so difficult?

2)Explain how the social contracts of Hobbes and Locke solve the problem of the state of war. How do their solutions to this problem differ?

3)How does Rousseau’s social contract ensure the harmonization of every individual’s moral free will with the freedom of all? 4)How does Wollstonecraft ground her claim for social equality in the face of the highly unequal gendered division of social roles and manners of existing society?