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What does it mean to examine a life?

An examined claim needs reasons and can be revised under questioning.

PhilosophyThinker · Selected readingSome background helpful
Background and goal

Try the short introduction first, or bring equivalent reading experience. Obtain the specified text before beginning the longer reading.

Write a dialogue in which a definition of courage encounters two counterexamples.

Useful preparation

Start here if the background is new. Equivalent experience is enough.

  • Begin with Plato

    Introduces the question and vocabulary used in the longer selected reading.

    PhilosophyBeginner

Your pathway

5 steps · 14 hours
  1. 01

    Locate the reading

    0.25h · week 1
    Reading notes and task
    First fifteen minutesCheck the edition or article version and locate the passages below. Write the question you want the reading to resolve.
    Your outputEdition and passage record
  2. 02

    Study the opening

    4h · week 1
    Apology

    Plato · book

    Introduction or preface and opening chapter. Record the edition and translator before reading.

    Library or purchase

    Find a copy
    Reading notes and task

    Apology. Dialogues about knowledge, justice and the examined life. Begin by separating a speaker’s position from the dialogue’s larger argument.

    Try thisRead Introduction or preface and opening chapter. Record the edition and translator before reading.. Reconstruct the central argument using premises and a conclusion.
    Your outputArgument reconstruction
    Check your understanding

    Answer this question in your own words: What does it mean to examine a life?

    Hint

    Name the claim, then explain why a reader might accept it.

    Compare with an example answer

    An examined claim needs reasons and can be revised under questioning.

    What to look for

    • States a claim that addresses the question
    • Connects the claim to a passage or observation
    • Separates the author’s argument from personal agreement

    Common mistake: Summarising a biography instead of explaining the argument.

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  3. 03

    Read for contrast

    5h · week 2
    Apology

    Plato · book

    Locate two passages about “What does it mean to examine a life” using the contents or index. Record their chapter/section names in your notes; this route assigns selections, not the whole work.

    Library or purchase

    Find a copy
    Reading notes and task

    Apology. Dialogues about knowledge, justice and the examined life. Begin by separating a speaker’s position from the dialogue’s larger argument.

    Try thisRead the two passages you located. Compare what each claims about “What does it mean to examine a life”. Record what changed and what remains unresolved.
    Your outputTwo-passage comparison
  4. 04

    Develop an example

    3h · week 3
    Reading notes and task
    Try thisWrite a dialogue in which a definition of courage encounters two counterexamples.
    Your outputWorked example
    Check your understanding

    What would make your activity a convincing example?

    Hint

    Write a dialogue in which a definition of courage encounters two counterexamples.

    Compare with an example answer

    A useful response carries out the task: Write a dialogue in which a definition of courage encounters two counterexamples. It records the observation or passage used and explains how it bears on the question.

    What to look for

    • Completes the specific task
    • Shows evidence or reasoning rather than only a conclusion
    • Identifies an alternative explanation or reading

    Common mistake: Presenting an opinion without showing the example it rests on.

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  5. 05

    Write a considered response

    1.75h · week 4
    Reading notes and task
    Try thisWrite a response to “What does it mean to examine a life?” that uses both passages and tests its own conclusion. Do not treat every dramatic speaker as Plato’s own voice.
    Your outputReasoned response with references
    Check your understanding

    What is one conclusion this reading does not establish?

    Hint

    Test the boundary: Do not treat every dramatic speaker as Plato’s own voice.

    Compare with an example answer

    Do not treat every dramatic speaker as Plato’s own voice.

    What to look for

    • States a specific limit
    • Explains why the reading does not warrant the stronger conclusion
    • Distinguishes a limitation from dismissing the work

    Common mistake: Treating a useful interpretation as an unrestricted fact.

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All 1 resources

Background, different viewpoints, and further reading.

  • Apology

    Platobookcore

    Dialogues about knowledge, justice and the examined life. Begin by separating a speaker’s position from the dialogue’s larger argument.

    Introduction or preface and opening chapter. Record the edition and translator before reading.