(Paper: MLA style: double space, font size 12 – times new roman, works cited page). Use the original text and at least one other peer-reviewed secondary source. Sparknotes, Wikipedia or other non-scholarly sources will result in a negative score. If papers are late, your grade will be reduced by 2% of the paper grade potential per day.
1) Explore Descartes’ method of doubt and his proof of certainty, Cogito Ergo Sum (I think therefore I am), proof of God’s existence and finally his certainty that the world exists. Why does he go through this method and how did this alter medieval epistemology?
2) John Locke (1632-1704) states “Life, Liberty and Property” are natural rights of man pre-empting capitalism. Karl Marx (1818-1883) seeks to abolish private property due to, among other things, the exploitation of the proletariat (working class). Both thinkers believe in equality. Why do they both disagree when it comes to property rights?
3) Albert Camus wrote the Myth of Sisyphus which asks this: if life is absurd (which he claims it is) then what makes life worth living? Explore Camus’ philosophy of absurdism and why we must still “imagine Sisyphus happy.” (excerpt on blackboard).
4) In the 19th century Nietzsche claimed, “God is dead, he remains dead, and we killed him.” What are the implications of this statement? In your essay also outline his criticism of religion and his genealogy of morals.
5) Simone de Beauvoir wrote a revolutionary feminist work, The Second Sex. Here Simone De Beauvoir asked herself “Is there any such a ‘thing’ as woman?” and “Do women even exist?” If so, then, “What is a woman?” What do these questions mean and how does she answer them? (consider her most famous quote is “One is not born, but rather becomes Woman.”)
6) According to the IPCC (Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change) we have 12 years to attain a carbon neutral footprint so that the planetary warming can stay below the projected 2 degree increase. Choose one of our environmental articles on blackboard and through a critical examination of the text, explain what the author suggests, either explicitly or implicitly, is the main obstacle to solutions.
