PHIL 681: Eleventh Short Paper
Due April 20 or 27
(Reminder: You do not have to do this particular paper. You need to do
any four short papers (or three short papers plus a presentation), plus
the major semester paper, over the course of the semester.)
Option
One
The only fragment that is fairly securely attributed
to Protagoras is found in Sextus, adversos
mathematicos vii.60, and reads: "Of all things the measure is
the/a human, of the things that are that/how they are, and of the
things that are not that/how they are not."
(In Greek: πάντων χρημάτων μέτρον ἐστὶν ἄνθρωπος, τῶν μὲν ὄντων ὡς ἔστιν, τῶν δὲ οὐκ ὄντων ὡς οὐκ ἔστιν ). The first occurrence of
the word 'things' is a form of the word chrema, which Anaxagoras used; the
other occurrences ('things that are,' 'things that are not') are forms
of the word on (thing,
being), which was a focus in Parmenides, Zeno, Melissus, and the
Atomists.
Unfortunately, we do not know the context in which
Protagoras offered his remark. Therefore the scholar studing this
remark must examine what P. might be offering that is new at the time,
what ideas and debates and concerns of the time he might have been
addressing, and so forth. That's the task of this assignment: What if
anything is Protagoras offering that has not been seen so far in the
extant fragments of the philosophers we've studied? What in his
fragment might be addressing philosophical ideas, debates, and concerns
that we have studied? How so? Explain. What might the fragment suggest
about the content of Protagoras' response to these issues?
You may certainly quote the texts, but when
you do so
you must explain what you think the quotations mean and imply. There is
no need to use any sources other than the assigned texts and listed
recommended texts. Your discussion of these secondary texts should not
simply repeat or paraphrase their arguments, but should also show your
assessment of their accuracy and of the sufficiency of the support they
give for their points. This paper should be approximately 4-5 pages
long (typed, double-spaced, 12-point font, one-inch margins). It is due
in class on April 20 or 27 (due to ongoing server problems I'm
extending the due date).
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