Here are the study questions. No absolute guarantees that both questions will be drawn from this list (or appear in this form), but – given that all the major topics are covered here – if you are prepared to answer these, you will no doubt do well on the exam. Study hard and make us all proud of you.

Note: when I say "religious texts" I mean not only the OT, NT and Koran, but also Augustine, Aquinas and al-Ghazali.

1. What are ontology and epistemology? What ontological and epistemological system does Plato lay out in the Republic (make special reference to his analogies and allegories)?

2. What ontological and epistemological systems are evident in Epicurus, the Stoics and the religious texts we read? In what ways are they similar and in what ways do they differ? How do you assess their relative plausibility?

3. Where do political/moral elites come from in Plato and Aristotle on the one hand, and in the religious texts on the other (note that Exodus is the story of a slave people). What qualities do the leaders of each have? How are the leaders trained (or train themselves)? In what way should the rulers rule? Do the roots of the contrasting elites have an effect on the ethical systems that are elaborated?

4. Augustine holds that the Platonists represent "the closest approximation to [the] Christian position (VIII/9)" Given your knowledge of Plato, Matthew and Romans, and Augustine himself, how would you evaluate this claim? In what ways can Augustine be described as a "Christian Platonist"?

5. Plato holds that a well-run society will prohibit certain kinds of art, literature and music, and warns that guardians "must guard as carefully as they can against any innovation in music and poetry." What is his justification for this assertive brand of censorship, and how valid are his concerns (i.e. have changes in the arts contributed to disruptive (even if often beneficial) social change)? Compare his argument with those often used in our society (e.g. vs. pornography, certain rock music). Under what circumstances, if any, do you think that censorship of the arts may be justified? If you disagree with Plato, to what extent is your disagreement a reflection of differing ideas on the nature and function of art? (Make reference to the Nehamas lecture as well.)

6. How important is happiness in each of the works we have read? What does it mean to be happy? According to the various authors, what makes an individual happy? Why does this make us happy? How do the authors support their arguments? Can we in fact be happy? Which, if any, of their prescriptions seem to you the correct (or at least the most likely) way to achieve happiness?

7. How does the relationship between the individual and God function in each of the religious texts we have read? How does this compare to the relationship between the individual and the Good in Plato? What mutual rights and obligations obtain, according to the texts (if any)? What are the nature of proscriptions and benefits? How do these relate to the individual’s happiness?

8. What political consequences can we draw from the religious texts we have read? How do the ethical and legal positions the set out contribute to the smooth functioning of the societies in which they are elaborated? How practicable are they? How far do they go? What responsibilities does the believing individual have towards the temporal government, and how are these responsibilities couched in the texts?

9. Many of the works we read (almost all, in fact), hold implicitly or explicitly that the inferior status of women and slaves is proper. How do the authors justify their positions? How do the authors’ ontological and epistemological assumptions validate the subordination of women and slaves? What problems are internal to the arguments themselves? How might we criticize them from and external paradigm?

10. Almost all of the texts we have read explicitly attempt to quell our "desires." What do authors such as Plato, Aristotle, Epicurus, Epictetus, and Augustine mean by the desires? How and why are we supposed to keep them under control? What (for Aquinas, but also others) is the role of the will in containing the desires? Is there a shared root between Classical and religious attempts to quell the desires?