Philosophy Question

Touchstones are projects that illustrate your comprehension of the course material, help you refine skills, and demonstrate the application of knowledge. You can work on a Touchstone anytime, but you can’t submit it until you have completed the unit’s Milestone. Once you’ve submitted a Touchstone, it will be graded and counted toward your final course score. In order to foster learning and growth, all essays you submit must be newly written specifically for this course. Any recycled work will be sent back with a 0, and you will be given one attempt to redo the Touchstone. DIRECTIONS: As reported in Plato’s account The Apology, Socrates famously claimed at his trial that “The unexamined life is not worth living.” In this course, you have had the opportunity to examine your own life and reality through the thoughts of the Ancient Greek philosophers. The purpose of this touchstone assignment is for you (1) to engage with the philosophical ideas presented in this course and (2) to reflect on how these philosophical ideas have impacted your own life.

Part I: Philosophical Thinking
In the first part of the touchstone, you will be distinguishing between the three primary branches of philosophy.

Consider the three following questions: Part I of this assignment should be approximately 1-2 pages (300-600 words) and cover each of the following steps: The purpose of Part II is for you to reflect on the philosophical mindset and some of the ideas presented in this course and apply them to your own life. This reflection is more open-ended than Part I, but should include reflections on the following questions: In answering these reflection questions, you are free to draw from your own experiences as well as bringing in the ideas of different Ancient Greek philosophers. Please note: Some philosophers will be more suited for particular questions than others. For example, Epictetus has a lot to say about “What is the good life and how ought I to live it?” while not saying much about knowledge or reality. Plato and Aristotle wrote a great deal about all three questions. Refer to the checklist below throughout the writing process. Do not submit your Touchstone until it meets these guidelines.
Part I: Philosophical Thinking (5 points)
Connect each of the philosophical questions with the associated branch of philosophy. (20 points)
Illustrate the differences between the three branches of philosophy using examples from the course. (5 points)
Describe philosophical thinking and reflect on how it can help in a personal way. (10 points)
Describe the influence of philosophical viewpoints from the course on personal views and opinions. (25 points)
Select a single philosophical question to explore. Provide and explain your personal reflection on the question. The following requirements must be met for your submission to be graded: Requirements: DVFDV | .doc file What is knowledge? What is reality made of? What is the good life and how ought I to live it? First, you should define philosophy and then distinguish and define each of the three main branches of philosophy covered in this class. Then, identify which of the above questions is associated with each branch of philosophy. You should illustrate the differences between the three branches of philosophy using examples from the course. For example, explain how Socrates would answer the question “What is knowledge?” or how Epictetus would answer the question “What is the good life?” What does it mean to think philosophically? How can thinking philosophically help me in my own life? What impact do the ideas of the Ancient Greek philosophers have on my own views and opinions? Then, based on these reflections, you should give your own answer to whichever of the three questions from Part I you chose to focus on. (“What is knowledge?”; “What is reality?”; “What is the good life?”) Your draft must be 3-4 page (approximately 700-1000 words) Double-space your submission and use one-inch margins. Use a readable 12-point font. All writing must be appropriate for an academic context. Your submission must be original and written for this assignment. Plagiarism of any kind is strictly prohibited. Your submission must include your name, the name of the course, the date, and the title of your composition. Include all of the assignment components in a single file. Acceptable file formats include .doc and .docx. First, you should define philosophy and then distinguish and define each of the three main branches of philosophy covered in this class.
Then, identify which of the above questions is associated with each branch of philosophy.
You should illustrate the differences between the three branches of philosophy using examples from the course. For example, explain how Socrates would answer the question “What is knowledge?” or how Epictetus would answer the question “What is the good life?” What does it mean to think philosophically? How can thinking philosophically help me in my own life?
What impact do the ideas of the Ancient Greek philosophers have on my own views and opinions?
Then, based on these reflections, you should give your own answer to whichever of the three questions from Part I you chose to focus on. (“What is knowledge?”; “What is reality?”; “What is the good life?”)