Philosophy

TOPIC: Show how King employs Socrates’ notions of the ‘examined life’ and the ‘gadfly’ in the “Letter from Birmingham Jail” in his quest for social justice (using OUR CLASS PDF file ). Discuss whether an examined life has relevance to today’s society.
ASPECTS TO INCLUDE: What is Socrates’ notion of an ‘examined life’? What is his notion of a ‘gadfly’ and its role? How does King employ these notions in the “Letter from Birmingham Jail”? Your King discussion should include why the letter was written; the steps of non-violent, direct-action campaign and EXPLAIN them. Why does King say “we can’t wait”? Other aspects you might consider employing: the distinction between just and unjust laws; the distinction between positive and negative peace; Martin Buber’s “I- Thou/I-It” distinction cited by King, etc. And does an examined life have relevance today, why or why not? If so, how so?
LENGTH: about 3 double-spaced pages
ADDITIONAL MANDATORY REQUIREMENTS:
YOUR GRADE WILL BE ADVERSELY AFFECTED IF YOU DON’T FOLLOW THESE
INSTRUCTIONS
QUOTES & CITATIONS:
You MUST employ at least 3 quotations from King’s “Letter” (OUR PDF FILE) and/or Vaughn’s text, Philosophy Here and Now.
ONLY THESE SOURCES ARE PERMITTED FOR THIS ASSIGNMENT.
Use MLA citation style. Examples:
King says, “Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere” (King, p. 1).
Socrates claims that “the unexamined life is not worth living” (in Vaughn, p. 60).
A WORKS CITED PAGE IS REQUIRED
MLA style; Example: Vaughn, Lewis. Philosophy Here and Now: Powerful Ideas in Everyday Life, 4th edition. New York: Oxford University Press, 2019.
THE USE OF GENERATIVE AI IS NOT ALLOWED. Using it will be considered a violation of academic integrity and the minimum penalty is a zero on the assignment.
PLAGIARISM WILL NOT BE TOLERATED! The minimum penalty for plagiarism is a zero on the assignment.