WORKSHOP: Xenophon's Socrates vs. Plato's
By Don Finkel
Divide up into 4 groups of 6 people each. Look for new people to work with.
This workshop guides you through a piece of textual research, that is, it asks you to go back to the text with a specific question in mind, to answer that question based on what you find in the text, and to construct an argument to make your answer persuasive based on the evidence you found in the text. You will find the question under step 3 of Part I below.
Part I (2 hours)
Read the entire worksheet before beginning. Then discuss how to organize your work on steps 1 and 2. You may decide to do them one after the other in the order they are written, in the reverse order, or to do them both simultaneously. You may decide it makes sense to make a division of labor on the two questions, or not. Choose the method that seems likely to produce the best results. For this workshop, you should not need a clock-watcher; nevertheless keep an eye on the time, remembering you have 2 hours for the 3 steps.
1. Go through the first three books of Xenophon's Recollections of Socrates, using your underlinings and notes as an aid, and locate as many specific ways in which Xenophon's Socrates differs from Plato's. Write these down in a list. For each one, attach a specific textual reference from Xenophon that illustrates the point of difference. You need not include a textual reference from Plato unless the point about Plato's Socrates is one the class is unlikely to be familiar with.
2. Go through the first three books of Xenophon's Recollections of Socrates, using your underlinings and notes as an aid, and locate as many specific ways in which Xenophon's Socrates is the same as or closely resembles Plato's. Write these down in a list. For each one, attach a specific textual reference from Xenophon that illustrates the point of similarity. You need not include a textual reference from Plato unless the point about Plato's Socrates is one the class is unlikely to be familiar with.
3. ON BALANCE, WHICH HAS THE UPPER HAND: THE DIFFERENCE OR THE SIMILARITY BETWEEN XENOPHON'S SOCRATES AND PLATO'S SOCRATES?
Make an argument to support whichever claim is your answer to the question, supporting your analysis with textual references from Xenophon. Be prepared to present your argument to the class after lunch. Choose a group member willing to take good notes and to make a presentation of your argument (based on these notes) to the class during Part II.
LUNCH BREAK: It should be about noon. Return to Lib. 2116 at 1:15 PM.
Part II (75-90 minutes)
Presentation of Group reports and discussion of the question.