Socrates compared Athenians to a dazed, sluggish horse that could possibly be awakened by the persistent biting of an (annoying!) fly. This idea of Socrates as a transformative “philosophical gadfly” inspired many who have read about Socrates’s life and death.

Your formal writing assignment this week is to write a 600-900 word essay that answers each of the following questions:

1. Did Socrates’s philosophical lifestyle have the potential to “wake up” Athenians in a way that could have been useful to that society?
2. Does the importance of being awoken in that way justify the extreme manner that Socrates chose to live and die?
3. Do you agree that (to use a famous phrase from the eighteenth century Prussian philosopher Immanuel Kant), awakening an individual–or an entire society–from “dogmatic slumbers” is a constructive and useful role of raising probing philosophical questions? Is there a significant opportunity for philosophers or others to play this kind of constructive role in our own society?

Please ensure that your essay addresses each component of the assigned questions and that your answer is well-organized, uses excellent, college-level prose, and makes judicious use of textual evidence.

In a 6–8 page, double-spaced paper, address each of the following components:

1. Provide an introduction to your analysis—a brief recap of the case.
2. Discuss whether or not you believe this child has developed a secure attachment to a parent or caregiver and provide specific reasons from the case (and readings) to support your position. Discuss how Timothy’s attachment to his parents has impacted his development throughout his childhood and give examples from each stage.
3. Use Bronfenbrenner’s ecological model to discuss the contextual and ecological factors such as poverty, education, the environment of the home, and poor quality child care.
4. What is the prognosis for this child if he does not receive treatment? What treatment might be successful in helping this child? Use the Capella library to find at least two peer-reviewed articles that focus on disordered attachments and their treatment.
5. After reviewing the information on careers in child psychology, discuss how at least one type of provider might work with Timothy’s family. Also, discuss this career in pediatric psychology and the impact of this field on child development.
6. Discuss at least one ethical consideration that a pediatric provider may need to be aware of when working with a family.
7. After reflecting on this case, consider the implications for policy. Provide an example of how can we use our understanding of early bonding to inform policy.
8. Provide a reference list.

Early Years

At 26 months, Timothy was referred to child services for evaluation because he was “out of control.” His parents, Alice and Steve, referred to him as a “holy terror.” According to the parents, when Timothy was told “no,” he threw himself on the floor kicking and screaming and he would hit and kick any adults when they approached. When Timothy became very upset he would bang his head on the floor and bite himself.

Home life

History reveals considerable violence at home between Alice and Steve which Timothy often witnesses. Steve frequently found himself in between jobs. His mother worked long, overnight shifts for a minimum wage salary. Both parents regularly used spanking as method of discipline.

Daycare

Timothy spent 10 hours per day at an illegal daycare home where one caregiver was responsible for 12 children all under the age of four. The caregiver used spanking to discipline Timothy and the other children in her care. Timothy’s mother often picked in a soiled pamper and with a pacifier in his mouth. The parents had some concerns about the Timothy’s childcare—including unsanitary conditions, and snacks consisting of potato chips and cookies; they did not believe they had any choice however. The high-quality care centers in their area are too expensive.

Elementary Years

At age six, Timothy was enrolled in a first-grade public school program. He never attended any formal preschool or kindergarten program. Timothy’s teacher reported that he had difficulty making friends and was often seen playing on his own during recess. He rarely came to school prepared with the needed supplies or with his homework completed. Timothy occasionally had an angry, frustrated reaction to his teacher and often ignored the classroom rules.

Adolescence

At age 11, Timothy was held back from being promoted to sixth grade. His academics were far below what would be expected for a fifth-grade student and he struggled with both reading and writing. Timothy had few friends and was suspended briefly for hitting another student over a minor disagreement.

Complete a chart comparing yourself with your current or past spouse/ dating partner on several relevant dimensions, such as educational level, attractiveness, political ideology, etc.

Write a 1,000-1,500-word essay describing your results and the following:

1. Compare results with topic material.
2. What aspects did you and your partner match on?
3. What aspects did not match?
4. Are your matches consistent with the theories presented in class? Why or why not?

Write a biography on Hitler, focusing on what you learned about his life based on some research. What was he like as a child?  What got him involved in politics?  What were some of the atrocities he committed during the Holocaust?  How did he die? What was so important about him? Why is it important for people to know about him? Who was he exactly?  What was life like during this time, for him and everyone else?

This should be a detailed, 5 paragraph biography on Adolf Hilter. This should be done in Microsoft Word.  Be sure to correctly cite all information.

Do not copy and paste information from the web.  If you don’t know how to do this assignment, please see me.  If I read copied biographies, you will not be able to submit this online.  Instead, read about him from your source, and write what you learn without looking at the source; I am not interested in a list of facts from the web.

To help, use these questions as the basis for each paragraph:

1) If you had to summarize what you already know about Hitler, what would you say? 

2) How did his early childhood life affect him?

3) How did he become interested in politics?  How did he rise to power?

4) What were some things he did during the Holocaust? What did he believe about Jewish people?

5) Why should we remember him?  What lesson can we learn?