MIDTERM PROMPT 

· 3-5 PAGES

· Typed & Double-Spaced

· 12-point font (New Times Roman, Ariel)

· MLA, Chicago, APA, or Turabian Format

· You must provide at least 2 scholarly source materials for citation within the work (3 would be ideal)

o 1- the textbook itself from the author’s own work (Plato or Aquinas in Baird’s book)

o 1- external sources (JSTOR, EBSCO, Google Scholar search)

§ Wikipedia is NOT a scholarly source!!!!

· Due at the BEGINNING OF CLASS on WEDNESDAY OCTOBER 17TH   

· LATE ASSIGNMENTS WILL NEED TO BE EMAILED DIRECTLY TO ME AND WILL IMMEDIATELY RECEIVE 20% OFF THE FINAL EARNED GRADE!! 

CHOOSE ONE OF THE FOLLOWING PROMPTS TO WRITE ON: 

• 1. Thomas Aquinas offered 5 ways, or proofs, for the existence of God in his writing, Summa Theologicae.  Discuss which ONE of the five proofs you think to be the most philosophically convincing, and why.  Then, alternatively discuss which ONE of the five proofs you believe to be the least convincing, and why. Be sure to use citations appropriately from Aquinas, and any other external sources you may find to substantiate your position.  

• 2. In Plato’s dialogue, Euthyphro, Socrates engages in the question of ‘what is piety (goodness)?’  Explain what the Divine Command Theory is and how it leads to the Euthyphro dilemma regarding goodness and its possible grounding in God’s commandment.  Examine why it presents a problem for anyone holding to an ethical foundation based solely on God’s commandment of what is good.  Then, offer a possible philosophical solution to this dilemma.