History 3281/Humanities 3281

 

Modern European Intellectual History I

Antiquity - 1750

Fall Semester, 2006

 

Question for Critical Essay

Due Monday, November 27, Before Noon, in 614 Social Sciences or 756 Social Sciences

 

Requirements:

 

Length: A typed paper of approximately 1200 words (4-5 typed pages).

Source Material: Course material studied this semester as contained on the course syllabus and web page (http://www.hist.umn.edu/shank/Hist3281.html). For this assignment, you must also restrict yourself to the period that begins with Machiavelli, The Prince and ends with Pascal, PensŽes. If you want to draw comparisons with earlier texts, you may, but your paper must focus on the texts from the middle of the syllabus. You may consult other sources as well if you desire, but consultation of sources not on the syllabus is not required, and is even discouraged. If you do use outside sources be sure to document them through in-text citations and a bibliography (if necessary). For guidelines about citation rules, see below.

Due: Monday, November 27, Before Noon, in 614 Social Sciences or 756 Social Sciences

 

Assignment:

 

Your assignment is very simple. I want you to:

 

1.)      Introduce and defend a thesis of your own choosing that is relevant to the course material we have been studying.

2.)      Defend your thesis through a textual analysis of at least 3 of the texts we have studied so far. For this assignment, you must also restrict yourself to the period that begins with Machiavelli, The Prince and ends with Pascal, PensŽes. If you want to draw comparisons with earlier texts, you may, but your paper must focus on the texts from the middle of the syllabus.

 

There are many good ways to satisfy this assignment so here are some guidelines to help you in formulating your essay.

 

Guidelines:

 

Most important is that you offer a clearly defined thesis and lots of detailed supporting evidence backing up your position. Remember: there are no right or wrong answers, only well-defended and poorly-defended arguments. To make sure that you write a well-defended essay, first be certain that you assert a clear argumentative thesis (i.e. a position that someone might disagree with but which you want to prove to be correct). Then make sure you offer lots of corroborating evidence persuading even a skeptic that you are correct. In fact, since better essays usually result when the writer imagines a reader who is deeply suspicious of her point of view and then tries to build an argument that will persuade even this skeptic, your essay will be better if you also assume this skeptical reader as your audience and then work hard to include enough evidence to persuade even this critic that you are right.

 

Since the most persuasive evidence for a paper like this is detailed, accurate historical examples and direct textual evidence, the best papers will also discuss precise historical developments and reproduce direct quotes drawn from the texts or artworks in question when supporting its thesis. Here is where the textual analysis dimension of your paper is particularly important. Choose texts that support your supposition and then show the reader that you are right be citing and interpreting quotes. Or choose a text that contradicts your point of view and then show in the same manner why you are still right. Use a comparison between two texts to make your point, or follow a theme that flows through three or more of the texts to assert your position. There are many ways to use textual analysis as a basis for argument, but it is crucial that you adopt one or more strategies and make them the centerpiece of your paper. In other words, a paper that simply argues a position without offering a thorough textual analysis to back it up will be an unsuccessful paper given this assignment.

 

Be sure to be very precise in your answer and in your use of evidence. Just saying that ÒGreek philosophy asserted a new role for reasonÓ isnÕt saying anything specific and wonÕt by itself constitute a good basis for argument. What exactly was Greek philosophy, how exactly was it different from other conceptions of thought or knowledge, and what precisely was the role of reason in this precise formulation? Answers to these specific questions, supported by critical analysis of the texts we have studied, will give you the specificity you need.

 

A lot rides on finding a good thesis to defend, so here are some strategies for doing that. Think about what kind of interpretive approach you are interested in pursuing. For example, do you want to think historically? If so, then questions such as these might lead to answers that would make for good theses:

 

1.)      Can one talk of a Florentine philosophy, and if so, what was its relation to the history of the city of Florence which produced it?

2.)      How has the concept of philosophy changed since antiquity? What was the precise nature and consequences of these changes?

3.)      How did the Reformation (or the Columbian Encounter, or the European religious wars, or...) draw upon and/or modify philosophy as it had developed prior to 1500? How and why did these changes come about, and/or what outcomes did they produce?

4.)      What was the nature and significance of ________ (i.e. Lutheranism, Catholicism, the New World, the Jesuits, Renaissance Humanism, the trial of Galileo, or any other similar category you may choose) in the development of the philosophical discourse of modernity after 1500?

5.)      How was LutherÕs thought related to DescartesÕ? What were the consequences of the move from one to the other in historical time? (N.B. Any two or three thinkers could be compared this way by simply arranging them in chronological sequence, and then offering a thesis that links them together through an argument about their historical relationship).

6.)      How did the concept of reason (or tradition, or religion, or the self, or the good, or philosophy, or the cosmosÉ) change within Western philosophy from 1500 to 1700 CE?

7.)      Did Renaissance Florence bring about the birth of modernity? If so, how exactly?

8.)      Descartes (or Bacon, or Galileo, or Luther, or ColumbusÉ.) was the prototypical European philosopher (religious thinker, political thinker, moralist, etc.) after 1500 becauseÉ

 

Each of these questions suggest historical interpretations because they focus on answers that assume change over time. Instead, you may want to adopt an ahistorical or analytical approach. If so, questions like these might lead to good theses:

 

1.)      What is modernity? Does one find it in Europe before 1500? Why or why not?

2.)      What is philosophy? What is the relationship between philosophy and poetry? Philosophy and society? Philosophy and religion? Philosophy and tradition? Philosophy and authority? Philosophy and literature? etc.

3.)      What is reason (or tradition, or religion, or the self, or the good, orÉ) and how do the texts we have studied define it?

4.)      DescratesÕs philosophy (or BaconÕs, or GalileoÕs, or MachiavelliÕsÉ) is problematic becauseÉ.

5.)      The Cartesian notion of radical skepticism (or the Baconian notion of experiment, or LeryÕs notion of the savage, or SpinozaÕs notion of ethics, or LutherÕs notion of religious authority, or ... ) is problematic becauseÉ.

6.)      The genre of the philosophical dialogue (or the genre of the treatise, or the life story, or the utopian fiction, or the historical narrative, or poetry, or the fable, or letters, or ... ) is important to philosophical discourse because....

 

Other questions are certainly possible, so overall feel free to let your critical interests and instincts take you wherever they will. But remember to stay focused on, first, finding a good thesis, and then, second, developing a rich textual analysis to support it. If you have any questions or concerns, or want further guidance in finding a good thesis, feel free to consult with me.

 

Technical Requirements:

 

It is important that your essay be entirely your own work so please do not discuss the questions or your essay with anyone in the class. To do so is to violate the University Honor Code. Similarly we will not use class time to directly address the assignment. You can consult with me individually if you have any questions or concerns.

 

When citing source materials, use the following rule: if you use a text on the syllabus and the edition that is for sale in the bookstore or distributed as a PCOPY, then simply cite the work from which you are quoting briefly in the text by noting the authorÕs name, the text, and the page number in parentheses like this: (Bacon, New Atlantis, p. 3). For the Bible, the standard Òchapter and verseÓ citation is enough (eg. Genesis, 3: 16-18). If you use a different edition of the required readings than the one for sale in the book store or distributed as a PCOPY, then use the same format above, but note also the publication information for the edition you are using. (eg. Descartes, Discourse on Method (New York: Penguin, 1968), p. 38). If you use other source material such as historical or secondary text not on the syllabus, then use a full citation of author, title, publisher, publication date, page number (i.e. E.R. Dodds, The Greeks and the Irrational (Berkeley: University of California Press, 1951), pp. 320-35) and include a bibliography of these sources at the end of the paper.

 

You are encouraged to work exclusively with the course materials and to avoid external research. If you do consult other books or research materials, however, then be sure to cite these works in your essay. To fail to do so is to plagiarize, a very serious offense. The same rule applies for web sites, encyclopedias, and any other source material. To be safe, either restrict yourself to the course materials alone in making your arguments or meticulously cite all your sources in the text.

 

In-text citations immediately after the quote or citation are sufficient documentation, so only add a separate bibliography if you have consulted outside sources.