Final Paper

Final Paper                PS 362 – Renaissance and Modern Political Theory (HSUEH)

Format

Must be 8-10 pages, typed, 12 point font, double-spaced, proofread, and properly footnoted and cited.

Be sure to indicate which essay question you have decided to answer.

Essays must be submitted in hardcopy—late papers will be lowered one letter grade without exception except for emergency circumstances. No emailed copies.

Date Due

3/17, MONDAY BY 5pm in my mailbox, Arntzen Hall 415, or in the hanging files outside of my office, Arntzen Hall 405.

In comparing and contrasting the different writings, your paper should always restate the author’s basic argument before proceeding with the analysis. Your summary and analysis of the arguments should be clearly structured and organized. You should focus on analyzing the strengths and weaknesses in the works under discussion. You can also address limitations, strengths, flaws, merits, or contradictions in the readings.

At the end of your paper, you should offer some concluding thoughts. This could take a variety of forms: you might mention the political relevance of your previous discussion; offer a suggestion; or pose another question or issue that has been raised by your analysis.

TOPICS

1. According to Rousseau, the "rich, pressed by necessity, finally conceive the most thought-out project that ever entered the human mind." p. 402. What was this "project"? Why does Rousseau think that it "irretrievably destroyed natural liberty" and "established forever the law of property and of inequality"? Do you agree? Explain, examine, and assess Rousseau’s claim by considering the Discourse on Inequality and another work covered in the course thus far (i.e., John Locke's Second Treatise of Government, Adam Smith’s Theory of Moral Sentiments, Nietzsche's Genealogy of Morals).

2. Should the “general will” be the foundation of a polity? Should laws and regulations be oriented towards the “general will” rather than self-interest or tradition? What are the benefits and drawbacks of structuring politics on the foundation of a “general will”? Explain, examine, and assess Rousseau’s position on the "general will" by considering The Social Contract and another work covered in the course thus far (i.e., John Locke's Second Treatise of Government, Adam Smith’s Theory of Moral Sentiments, Nietzsche's Genealogy of Morals). In your paper, it may be helpful to consider some of the following questions: How is the general will discovered? Can one be mistaken about what constitutes the general will of a society? Is the general will different from either the will of all, social norms, or enlightened self-interest?

3. In the Theory of Moral Sentiments, Adam Smith notes that “[w]hen I endeavour to examine my own conduct, when I endeavour to pass sentence upon it, and either to approve or condemn it, it is evident that, in all such cases, I divide myself, as it were, into two persons; and that I, the examiner and judge, represent a different character from that other I, the person whose conduct is examined into and judged of.” (p. 113) What does Smith mean by this and do you think this 'division' is relevant to political life? Explain, examine, and assess Smith’s statement by considering the Theory of Moral Sentiments and another work covered in the course thus far (i.e., John Locke's Second Treatise of Government, J.J. Rousseau's Social Contract or Discourse on Inequality, Nietzsche's Genealogy of Morals). In your paper, it may be helpful to consider some of the following questions: Is Smith’s description of the “impartial spectator” useful today? Does the opinion of others play a role in conscience, patriotism, virtues?

4. Is Nietzsche right about the “slave revolt in morality? Why? Why not? Your response should explain Nietzsche’s conception of “morality” and also address and assess the ideas of at least one other theorist from the second half of the quarter on the topic of morality. Explain, examine, and assess Nietzsche's position by considering The Genealogy of Morals and another work covered in the course thus far (i.e., John Locke's Second Treatise of Government, Adam Smith’s Theory of Moral Sentiments, J.J. Rousseau's Social Contract or Discourse on Inequality).