Double-spaced text.
Included: Your name, date, page numbers, the class name, and a title.
12 point font in Times New Roman.
Submitted as a PDF file to Canvas.
All sources must be cited using footnotes in Chicago Style.
Does your essay accord with the guidelines for the Written Assignments as stated in this syllabus? Is your answer free from spelling, syntax, or grammatical errors? Did you use normal 1-inch margins? Does your essay include footnotes with Chicago Style citations?
Outcome Thesis/Argument
Does your essay contain an original argument, interpretation, or claim in response to the question of the essay prompt? Is the thesis stated clearly in the first paragraph?
This criterion is linked to a Learning Outcome Context
Does your answer provide sufficient chronological/geographical/historical context, detail, or basic information (including dates, place names, the names of individuals and nations, or regions) for the reader to understand this topic?
This criterion is linked to a Learning Outcome Evidence
Does your answer draw upon a significant amount of textual or visual evidence to answer this question? Are you using both primary sources (from the time period being studied) and secondary sources (scholarly articles, book chapters, or the textbook)? Does your essay draw from both the documents assigned in class and my lectures for the course?
This criterion is linked to a Learning Outcome Organization
Does your paper contain an introduction, body paragraphs, and a conclusion? Does the introduction include a thesis statement (something like “I argue that…” or “My claim is that…”)?
This criterion is linked to a Learning Outcome Formatting
Does your essay accord with the guidelines for the Written Assignments as stated in this syllabus? Is your answer free from spelling, syntax, or grammatical errors? Did you use normal 1-inch margins? Does your essay include footnotes with Chicago Style citations?
Bryan Van Norden, in his essay “The Second Sage”, points out that the Chinese Confucian moral philosopher Mengzi (372-289 BCE) held that an ideal society ought to be oriented around “an environment conducive to virtue.” Mengzi advised rulers to ensure that ordinary people’s physical needs are adequately met, and argued that “a ruler who cannot provide for the needs of the common people has no legitimate claim to authority.” The Athenian philosopher Plato (428-348 BCE) likewise encouraged the kings of Sicily to rule in a moral and just fashion, as we learned in Nick Romeo’s essay “Plato in Sicily.” In a two (2) page essay, I would like you to discuss the following questions in sequence:
How would you introduce these two philosophers, Mengzi and Plato, with basic historical facts and context to someone outside of this class?
What were some of the major ideas or beliefs held by Mengzi? What moral or political advice did he hope to impart to rulers in China?
How and why did Plato’s efforts to transform Dionysius II of Syracuse fail? And what moral or political advice did he hope to impart to rulers in Greece and Italy?
What evidence does Van Norden and Romeo introduce and discuss to state their case about these two thinkers?
What can we learn about philosophy in China and the Mediterranean World by comparing the ideas of Mengzi and Plato?
Note: Confucianism and Chinese philosophy is discussed in Chapter 4 of your textbook, and Plato is discussed in some detail in Chapter 5 of your textbook.
