California State University Northridge Meaning of Knowledge Essay

Essay Purpose

In this essay, students will learn to analyze and understand the purpose of Socratic dialectical reasoning as a form of persuasive argumentation in Allegory of the Cave.

Required Texts Needed to Write This Essay

1. Plato’s  The Republic (Links to an external site.)“>Allegory of the Cave from The Republic (Links to an external site.) (click link to open reading).

• • Optional Video that can help you better understand the Allegory of the Cave: (Links to an external site.)“>Plato’s Allegory of the Cave film by Alex Gendler (Links to an external site.)

1. We’ll continue to draw examples from the same  (Links to an external site.)“>Rise of Superman (Links to an external site.)chapters assigned for Essay 1.

• • • Preface: “The Why of Flow”
    • Introduction: “Before the Flow”
    • Chapter 1 “The Way of Flow” on skateboarder Danny Way jumping the Great Wall of China
    • Chapter 2 “The Wave of Flow” on big wave surfer Laird Hamilton
    • Chapter 3 “The Where of Flow” on free solo rock climber Dean Potter
    • Chapter 6 “Outer Flow” on extreme solo kayaker Doug Ammons in the Stikine

1. Read Laurie Santos and Tamar Gendler’s article  (Links to an external site.)“>“Knowing is Half the Battle”. (Links to an external site.)
2. Read Model Student Essay Two for a nice example of what you should aim for in your own essay.

Instructions

INTRODUCTION PARAGRAPH (3/4 PAGE)

• Start with a hook that grabs the reader’s interest and introduces the essay topic.
• Next, describe the setting and plot of Plato’s “Allegory of the Cave.” For this assignment, we will refer to the prisoner who leaves the cave as “the philosopher.”
• Then add a transition sentence that credits Kotler’s book (by his full author name and title) and introduces the perspective of extreme sports athletes.
• End with your introduction paragraph with a 1 sentence thesis statement that is specific, concise, clear, and arguable.

THESIS (ONE SENTENCE)

Thesis Question: Pick 2 Platonic arguments (from the Allegory of the Cave in The Republic) from the following list. Do you think Kotler’s extreme sport athletes would support and / or reject your two chosen Plato claims?

• To avoid misreading Plato’s more complex ideas, please limit yourself to choosing two ideas from this list and avoid going outside it.
• When discussing these ideas in your Essay 2, restate them in your own words. Do not quote from this prompt.
• List of Plato’s ideas for your thesis:
  • We cannot trust our senses to give us reliable truths about the world because information we get from our senses will always deceive us. We can only trust our intellect when making important decisions.
  • It is painful to challenge yourself to leave the world you know, but what you gain from the experience is worth it because you will discover the ultimate meaning in life.
  • The greatest good in any person’s life is to become a philosopher who strives to educate his intellect in order to discover universal truths.
  • Society needs trailblazers who are willing to risk the discomfort of exploring the unknown because those trailblazers will return to lead and teach others in society.

Possible 3 thesis types:

1. A thesis where you argue the athletes might support one Plato idea but reject another one.
2. A thesis where you argue the athletes support both Plato ideas
3. A thesis where you argue the athletes reject both Plato ideas.

BODY PARAGRAPHS

• Very Important Requirement: Provide examplesfrom the stories of at least 2 of the athletes featured in assigned chapters of Kotler’s Rise of Superman: Danny Way, Laird Hamilton, Dean Potter, Doug Ammons, and Shane McConkey.
• Support your thesis by providing quotations from Plato’s Allegory of the Cave from The Republic. Avoid quoting from the video.
• Make sure to follow up all quotations with a 4-5 sentence explanation of how they support your topic sentence claim.
• Provide 3 Body Paragraphs. The first two body paragraphs will support your thesis. The third body paragraph will contain your counterargument and rebuttal.
• Each body paragraph should be restricted to supporting one specific thesis idea. There should not be multiple main ideas in one paragraph.
• Each body paragraph should discussion one idea that supports the thesis; in other words, body paragraphs should not repeat ideas from previous paragraphs and should not contain more than one main idea.

CONCLUSION

• Restate your thesis using new wording and phrasing so you are not simply cutting and pasting.
• End with some interesting reflections on the topic that go beyond merely repeating what you said earlier.