Write a formal essay of 5-6 pages (double-spaced, in a standard font) on one of the topics below. One rule I need you to follow is that you must omit your name from the assignment. Provide your student ID number instead of your name, since that way I won’t know your identity when I grade your work. This is a best practice when it comes to academic evaluations. Again, submit the assignment to the appropriate dropbox on LEARN (don’t e-mail me the assignment, since I intend to grade your work anonymously and fairly). Use the same citation method you used for the first paper.
Topics
Enlightenment — In “An Answer to the Question: What is Enlightenment,” how does Kant characterize the enlightenment, and what does he mean by the private and public uses of reason? After providing an exposition of these matters, offer a critical assessment of Kant’s essay, an assessment that tracks some of the crucial ideas from our reading by Foucault. Make sure to answer the following question. In relation to Kant’s essay, how are we to understand what Foucault calls the “thread which may connect us with the Enlightenment,” what Foucault refers to as a philosophical ethos?
Communist Manifesto — Marx and Engels argue that bourgeois society contains the seeds of its own destruction. They famously state this idea as follows: “What the bourgeoisie, therefore, produces, above all, is its own grave-diggers.” In the context of the history of class struggle, as
they refer to it, what are the key reasons for why bourgeois society is self-destructive? How convincing are their reasons? In taking up this topic, be sure to note the specific ways in which Marx and Engels use their terms (especially what they mean by the bourgeoisie and the proletariat).
Beyond Good and Evil — Nietzsche claims that fear is the mother of morals. What is the significance of this claim in light of what he says about the herd, and how does the herd, according to Nietzsche, shape our conceptions of good and evil? In relation to these matters, critically assess the role that Nietzsche assigns the free spirit, especially where his concern is with the revaluation of values. Draw from the selection of Beyond Good and Evil that we have read.
