Immediately after the execution of Socrates, Plato and his companions

Question

New Project RC Butler 2019  -  Practice 2 RC Passages Everyday   
Passage # 472, Date: 24-Nov-2019
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Immediately after the execution of Socrates, Plato and his companions relocated to nearby Megara, where a small school of Socratic thought was established. During the next nine years (from 399 to 390 B.C.E.), Plato committed his first works to writing, a body of works that included Laches, Protagoras, and Apology. These works are collectively known as Plato’s Socratic dialogues, because they are heavily focused on and influenced by his late teacher.

During this same period, it is speculated that Plato did a two-year stint (between 395 and 394 B.C.E.) with the military, possibly fighting in the Corinthian War, in which Athens and a collection of other city-states banded together to overthrow Spartan rule. It is not known for sure if he did indeed fight in this war, though there are some legends that he fought well enough to gain some decorations. During this time, Plato is also supposed to have journeyed to Egypt, where he visited Alexandria and possibly learned the secrets of the water clock, which he would bring back to Greek society. Again, this information is not well
documented, so it may fall under the category of apocrypha.

What is known for sure is that Plato traveled to southern Italy for the first time in 390 B.C.E., at the age of 37. There he met Archytas of Tarentum, who was leading a resurgence in the study of the works of Pythagoras. This exposure to Pythagoreanism had very profound effects on Plato; it formed the foundation of the notion that mathematics was the truest way of expressing the universe that Man could use. These ideas showed up in many of his later works, including Republic, as Plato used mathematical concepts to describe the nature of the universe and the human mind.

This passage is excerpted from Plato Within Your Grasp, by Brian Proffitt (Wiley Publishing, 2004).      1  
 E 
 1. The primary purpose of this passage is to

(A) argue for a new interpretation of Plato’s early works that are collectively known as the Socratic dialogues.
(B) explain the profound influence that Archytas of Tarentum had on Plato’s view of man as described in the Republic.
(C) chronicle Plato’s military exploits as he fought for Athens during the Corinthian War.
(D) detail the circumstances surrounding the establishment of a Socratic school of thought in Megara following Socrates’ execution.
(E) describe what is known of Plato’s life from the time of Socrates’ execution until Plato’s visit to southern Italy in 390 B.C.E.

2  
 D 
 2. It can be inferred from the passage that the phrase “category of apocrypha” at the end of the second paragraph means:

(A) Intentional lies meant to harm a reputation
(B) Histories well-documented by ancient historians
(C) Unnecessary information that detracts from historical truth
(D) Stories of questionable authenticity
(E) Tales of horror designed to impart fear

3  
 A 
 3. According to the passage, which of the following best describes the impact that Plato’s visit to southern Italy in 390 B.C.E. had on his later works?

(A) It injected into his writing the Pythagorean concept of mathematics as the truest way of expressing the universe.
(B) It allowed him to bring back to Greece the secrets of an accurate water clock, which greatly impacted his view of time.
(C) It forced him to get past the stifling influence that the execution of Socrates had on his works of the previous decade.
(D) It had virtually no influence on his work, and the journey itself cannot even be confirmed.
(E) His later works are infused with tragedy based on his military experience in southern Italy.

4  
 B 
 4. Which of the following books is NOT attributed to Plato in the passage?

(A) Apology
(B) Phaedo
(C) Laches
(D) Protagoras
(E) Republic

5  
 B 
 5. It can be logically inferred from the passage that Sparta

(A) was overthrown during the Corinthian War because of Plato’s involvement.
(B) ruled over Athens for some period of time prior to 395 B.C.E.
(C) lacked the important philosophical schools found in Athens.
(D) was responsible for the execution of Socrates.
(E) was a military state constantly at war with its neighbors.

Source:  GMAT For Dummies 
Difficulty Level:   550

somesh86 · Answer

Can someone confirm the answer to question 3. I didnt mark A because it said 'Pythagorean concept of mathematics' where as the passage just says 'mathematics was the truest way of expressing the universe'. Am I being to stuck on the specifics in this case? I made a similar mistake earlier too.

Note: Can you please post the level of the questions in the OAs itself. Helps assess our performance immediately as we attempt the passages.

Note: Can you please post the level of the questions in the OAs itself. Helps assess our performance immediately as we attempt the passages.

lostin · Answer

3. According to the passage, which of the following best describes the impact that Plato’s visit to southern Italy in 390 B.C.E. had on his later works?

(A) It injected into his writing the Pythagorean concept of mathematics as the truest way of expressing the universe.
(B) It allowed him to bring back to Greece the secrets of an accurate water clock, which greatly impacted his view of time.
(C) It forced him to get past the stifling influence that the execution of Socrates had on his works of the previous decade.
(D) It had virtually no influence on his work, and the journey itself cannot even be confirmed.
(E) His later works are infused with tragedy based on his military experience in southern Italy.

As per the RC - below is the information available after Platos' visit to Southern Italy.

What is known for sure is that Plato traveled to southern Italy for the first time in 390 B.C.E., at the age of 37. There he met Archytas of Tarentum, who was leading a resurgence in the study of the works of Pythagoras. This exposure to  Pythagoreanism had very profound effects on Plato  ; it formed the foundation of the notion that mathematics was the truest way of expressing the universe that Man could use. These ideas showed up in many of his later works, including  Republic, as Plato used mathematical concepts to describe the nature of the universe and the human mind.

POE -

(A) - very much in line of available info. Para clearly mentions that Plato used Pythagorean concept in his later work.
(B) Didn't happen after his Southern Italy visit -Eliminate 
(C) No mention of past in the para - Eliminate
(D) Opposite of what para says - Eliminate
(E) His later works were about - the nature of the universe and the human mind and no mention of Plato military experience in Southern Italy. - Eliminate

Even though option a is bit different than given para info (Indeed Pythagorean concept of mathematics is one of the many mathematical concept as the truest way of expressing the universe) - all other options can be eliminated so IMHO -  option A is correct answer.

KhulanE · Answer

1. The primary purpose of this passage is to
(A) argue for a new interpretation of Plato’s early works that are collectively known as the Socratic dialogues. - first paragraph mentions Plato's early work that was influenced by the Socratic dialogues. no argument is raised here so eliminate
(B) explain the profound influence that Archytas of Tarentum had on Plato’s view of man as described in the Republic. - true but there is no further explanation, so eliminate
(C) chronicle Plato’s military exploits as he fought for Athens during the Corinthian War. - regarding Plato's military exploits during the war is not documented and paragraph is not described chronicle of the war, therefore eliminate
(D) detail the circumstances surrounding the establishment of a Socratic school of thought in Megara following Socrates’ execution. - out of scope eliminate
(E) describe what is known of Plato’s life from the time of Socrates’ execution until Plato’s visit to southern Italy in 390 B.C.E. - true first and last passages are how Plato's early life reflects to his work.

KhulanE · Answer

It can be inferred from the passage that the phrase “category of apocrypha” at the end of the second paragraph means:
this information is not well documented, so it may fall under the category of apocrypha. => this means that previously mentioned information is not proven by the documents, therefore it might not be true. Answer choice D expresses this idea.
(D) Stories of questionable authenticity

KhulanE · Answer

4. Which of the following books is NOT attributed to Plato in the passage?
Plato committed his first works to writing, a body of works that included Laches, Protagoras, and Apology.- the first paragraph
These ideas showed up in many of his later works, including Republic, as Plato used mathematical concepts to describe the nature of the universe and the human mind.- last paragraph
(A) Apology
(B) Phaedo - not mentioned
(C) Laches
(D) Protagoras
(E) Republic

KhulanE · Answer

5. It can be logically inferred from the passage that Sparta

(A) was overthrown during the Corinthian War because of Plato’s involvement.
(B) ruled over Athens for some period of time prior to 395 B.C.E.
(C) lacked the important philosophical schools found in Athens.
(D) was responsible for the execution of Socrates.
(E) was a military state constantly at war with its neighbors.

During this same period, it is speculated that Plato did a two-year stint (between 395 and 394 B.C.E.) with the military, possibly fighting in the Corinthian War, in which  Athens and a collection of other city-states banded together to overthrow Spartan rule . => Sparta must be a rule that governed Athens and some other cities. Therefore, B is a right answer.

jaisonsunny77 · Answer

1.  The primary purpose of this passage is to

The first paragraph describes what happened to three people (including Plato) when Socrates was executed. 
The second paragraph highlights Plato's possible involvement with the military and his journey to Egypt. 
The third paragraph introduces the idea that Plato was influenced by the Pythagorean theorem to some extent at least.

As you can see, the whole passage provides different instances of what happened to Plato since the execution of Socrates. This is exactly what (E) says. Hence,  (E) is the right answer choice.

2.  It can be inferred from the passage that the phrase “category of apocrypha” at the end of the second paragraph means:

Okay. If you go to the last sentence of the second paragraph, you'll find " Again, this information is not well documented, so it may fall under the category of apocrypha ". This last sentence tries to highlight that the claim of "the water clock secrets" being brought back to Greece is not that well documented.

From this, we can infer that since it's not well documented, the claim cannot be authenticated. this is exactly what (D) says. Hence,  (D) is the right answer choice.

3.  According to the passage, which of the following best describes the impact that Plato’s visit to southern Italy in 390 B.C.E. had on his later works?

If we take a look at the last paragraph, the flow of information is as follows:

Plato traveled to Southern Italy --> Plato met someone (who was working on Pythagoreanism)--> Plato got exposed to Pythagoreanism --> Plato now believed that " mathematics was the truest way of expressing the universe that Man could use "

(A) mentions the same thing. Hence,  (A) is the right answer . 
 
4.  Which of the following books is NOT attributed to Plato in the passage?

(A) Apology  - Mentioned in paragraph 1
(B) Phaedo - Not mentioned anywhere. 
 (C) Laches  - Mentioned in paragraph 1
 (D) Protagoras  - Mentioned in paragraph 1
 (E) Republic - Mentioned in paragraph 3

(B) is the right answer choice.

5.  It can be logically inferred from the passage that Sparta

(A) was overthrown during the Corinthian War because of Plato’s involvement.  - The passage only mentions that Plato may have been 'involved' in the war. There is no definitive proof that he indeed fought in the war. Hence, we cannot reasonably infer (A) based on the information provided to us in the passage. Therefore,  eliminate (A)

(B) ruled over Athens for some period of time prior to 395 B.C.E. - If you read the second paragraph, it's mentioned that "...... Corinthian War,...  Athens and  a collection of  other city-states banded together  to overthrow Spartan  rule.  - Generally, if someone has to be 'overthrown' from power, it must mean that this person did indeed rule over the area of concern. Hence, (B) would be the most reasonable inference that we can make based on the context of this passage. Therefore, (B) is the right answer choice.

(C) lacked the important philosophical schools found in Athens . - We only know that there was a war that 'involved' Sparta. The passage does not provide any extra information regarding Sparta. Hence, we cannot infer (C). Therefore,  eliminate (C)

(D) was responsible for the execution of Socrates.  - The passage does not mention who 'executed' Socrates. Hence,  eliminate (D)

(E) was a military state constantly at war with its neighbors . - we do not have any information (in the passage) that we can use to prove that Sparta was 'constantly' at war. Hence, eliminate (E)

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Immediately after the execution of Socrates, Plato and his companions

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Immediately after the execution of Socrates, Plato and his companions

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