PH 221: Kant and Emerson Reflection and Analysis Paper
Due Date: Monday April 8
Directions: Write a 4-5 page reflection and analysis essay to oneof the following prompts. Reflection and analysis papers require thatyou express your own personal reaction to the topic. You could describewhether or not you agree with the author’s viewpoint, and explain youropinion. You could apply the authors views to something that you’veexperienced in your life. For instance, you could describe an encounteryou’ve had in nature and compare it to Emerson’s description of howhuman beings experience nature. A good paper will make direct use of thetext. That is, at some point in the paper you should focus yourattention on a specific passage or sentence in the reading and provideanalysis and explanation of it (a rough estimate might be: 1medium-length quote per body paragraph, or 1-2 short quotes per bodyparagraph). Your use of the text should be well-integrated into theoverall development of your essay. I would advise you to spend some timewriting an outline of your paper before you begin writing; it’s usuallya good idea to have a sense of the overall structure of your essaybefore you begin writing out the details.
Agood essay does not need to address each and every question in prompts(though you’ll probably want to take up several of them in your essay).Take the questions as a jumping-off point for your own thinking in thetopic. Remember, these essays should demonstrate your own sustainedreflection on the topic, so give yourself some time to turn the issuesover in your mind before you begin writing.
Immanuel Kant
Discuss Kant’s account of imperatives.
Some questions to consider: What is an imperative? How do imperatives relate to the faculty of practical reason? What is a categoricalimperative? How does it differ from a hypothetical imperative? What isthe relationship between Kant’s notion of a categorical imperative andthe moral law?
Discuss the so-called “Formula of Universal Law” (FUL)
Some questions to consider: Whatdoes the FUL require? How does the concept of a maxim figure into thisformula? How does FUL require that we not allow ourselves specialprivileges that we could not grant to everyone else? Do you think thisis an adequate rendering of the moral law at its most abstract and basiclevel? Why or why not?
Write a paper on the Formula of Humanity (FH).
Some questions to consider: What does Kant mean when he claims that a human being exists as an “end in itself”?What is an end in itself? What does Kant mean by claiming that humanbeings are to be treated always at the same time as ends in themselvesand never merely as a means? Do you find Kant’s discussion on this issueconvincing? Why or why not?
Write a paper explaining and evaluating Kant’s notion of a “kingdom of ends.”
Some questions to consider: Whatwould it mean to live in a kingdom of ends? In what sense is itappropriate to think of a kingdom of ends as the result of fullmorality? Is the kingdom of ends a compelling idea to set as an ultimategoal for morality? Why or why not?
Discuss Kant’s analysis of good will.
Some questions to consider: According to Kant, what is agood will? Why does Kant claim that a good will is good “withoutlimitation” (4:393)? How does a good will differ from other good things?What are the fundamental attributes of a good will? Do you find Kant’saccount of a good will convincing? Does it cohere with your consideredmoral judgment? Why or why not?
Ralph Waldo Emerson
Nature
Write an essay in response to Emerson’s conception of nature as contained in his 1836 essay “Nature. “
Somequestions to consider: What does he mean when he claims that “nature isthe symbol of spirit”? What is the relationship between language(words) and nature? Is it true than an authentic encounter with naturecan yield insight that exceeds much of the wisdom contained in book?Other possible themes to explore: solitude in nature, the meaning of’idealism,’ and Emerson’s discussion of “beauty.’
Divinity School Address
Reflect on Emerson’s discussion of religion in the “Divinity School Address” from 1838.
Some questions to consider: After giving this speech, Emersonwas not invited back to Harvard for about 30 years. Is Emerson’slecture an affront to religion or an authentic expression of it? Whatwould religious experience be like if one were to try to put intopractice the kind of religion that Emerson is expressing? What twoaspects of Christianity does Emerson claim could be the basis for arenewed Christianity? Do you agree with these recommendations? Why orwhy not? Some aspects of the lecture to consider: his denunciationof most active pastors in his day, his claim that official religion hasossified (and thereby falsified) the authentic meaning of Jesus’smessage.
Self-Reliance
Write a response paper to Emerson’s conception of self-reliance, as described in his essay “Self-Reliance.”
Some questions to consider: What does it mean to beself-reliant? What are some characteristics that would mark a life ofself-reliance. Do you find Emerson’s discussion compelling? Why or whynot? Other possible themes to consider: the importance of nonconformityand individuality in his account of self-reliance; the tension betweensociety and the individual in achieving self-reliance.
