Some Sample Socratic Discussions by Former Students.  

 

Here are two recent papers written in accord with the current instructions.

Being Soulful (Paper on the Russian concept Душевный, Dushevnii "soulful")

Patience

 

Here are a few more papers written longer ago, following a format somewhat different from the one required in the present assignment.  These might be useful in giving specific examples of reasoning about more virtues.  Do not just copy the structure of any of these papers. Follow instead the structure assigned in the present instructions for the first graded paper.

 

Optimistic

Passionate

Responsible

Being Charismatic

Creativity

In these papers: "X" represents the as yet unknown "essence" of what makes V admirable. 

The various "theories of X" are equivalents of "W" in the present description of the assignment -- they are "Words" (W) to be subjected to "critical examination" by counterexamples.  This critical examination uncovers an ambiguity in the W or "Theory of X." 

This ambiguity needs to be remedied by a "Clarifying Refinement," referred to in some of these papers as a "Revised theory of X."

 

Here are two papers written more free-form, but still exhibit clearly the required reasoning processes.

Curiosity

Courage