Ancient Greek Philosophers

Description

Touchstone Task 1: Defining Philosophy

ASSIGNMENT: The Touchstone Task in this course will help you

prepare for Touchstone 1.1, which you will submit after you have

completed the Challenges. A Touchstone is a project that demonstrates

your comprehension of the course material. It will help you refine

skills and demonstrate the application of knowledge. For your reference,

there is more information about Touchstones in the student guide.

In this Touchstone Task, you will engage with the course material to

thoughtfully answer the reflection questions. The effort you put into

this Touchstone Task will be beneficial when you start to write

Touchstone 1.1 and Touchstone 1.2 later in this Unit, so think carefully

as you answer each question.

While you will not receive a grade or feedback on this Touchstone Task

submission, doing the required work now will better prepare you for

success on the graded Touchstones later in the course. Completing the

exercise at this point in the course ensures that you are ready to move

on.

In order to foster learning and growth, all work you submit must be

newly written specifically for this course. For guidance on the use of

generative AI technology, review Ethical Standards and Appropriate Use of AI.

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A. Directions

Step 1: Review Final Touchstone

Review Touchstones 1.1 and 1.2 to determine how this Touchstone Task will be used to learn more about the overall assignment and to see how you will be graded. Return to this page to continue your Touchstone Task.

Step 2: Answer Reflection Questions

Use this Touchstone Task to begin practicing philosophical inquiry. Remember that philosophy is a unique field of study that requires critical thinking and open dialogue. The journey in answering philosophical questions is as important as the conclusions.

Download the Touchstone Task 1 Worksheet and answer the following reflection questions:

• Question 1: What philosophy question resonates most deeply with you from Challenge 1.1?
• Question 2: What are the most significant differences between philosophy and other academic disciplines?
• Question 3: What are the differences between an ‘opinion’ and a ‘philosophical argument?’
• Question 4: Have you taken time to understand each Ancient Greek philosopher’s ideas presented in the course material, and can you write a brief and accurate summary of their ideas?

Take a few minutes to consider each question before answering. Your writing does not have to be formal for this Touchstone Task; it can be spontaneous and flow without concern for structure or grammar. The point here is to think and be expressive. The more structured philosophical arguments will come in the graded Touchstone assignments.

Make sure your information and citations come from the Sophia tutorials to support your response. When citing material from a tutorial, please include the name of the lesson and use the following format for in-text citations:

EXAMPLE(Aristotle’s Highest Good, n.d.)

EXAMPLE

(The Footnotes to Plato, n.d.)

Please note these are examples only. You will have to adjust the citation based on the specific part of the tutorial you are referencing.

Step 3: Review Checklist

Refer to the checklist below throughout the writing process. Do not submit your Touchstone Task until it meets these guidelines.

1. Review Touchstone 1.1 and 1.2
❒ Did you review Touchstones 1.1 and 1.2 to determine how this Touchstone Task will be used?
❒ Did you review Touchstones 1.1 and 1.2 to learn more about the overall assignments?
❒ Did you review Touchstones 1.1 and 1.2 to see how you will be graded?

2. Reflection Questions
❒ Have you answered the four reflection questions?
❒ Have you given yourself the space for authentic reflection?

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B. Requirements

While this assignment is ungraded, we recommend you practice the following conventions, which are required for graded Touchstones:

• Composition must be 1 page (approximately 200-300 words), double-spaced, with one-inch margins.
• Use a readable 12-point font.
• Composition must be original and written for this assignment, and all writing must be appropriate for an academic context.
• Plagiarism of any kind is strictly prohibited.
• In-text citations should use this style: (Aristotle’s Highest Good, n.d.)
• 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 .doc or .docx file