– your ability to identify and summarize central points in the reading in a clear and well-organized manner – your overall understanding of the material – your ability to relate the readings to their own experience and to raise thoughtful questions about the material. Essay Prompts: 1. Søren Kierkegaard argues that ethical responsibility contains a religious core. He maintains that if this religious core is denied, it can erupt in violent ways. Describe what Kierkegaard means by this religious core and, providing examples from our world today, state whether you agree or disagree with his assessment of the consequences that can arise from its denial. 2. While Kant contends that morality depends only upon rational knowledge, Kierkegaard disagrees and argues that moral decision-making must also involve passion (i.e., trembling before the unknown) and a leap of faith. Outline the positions of both Kant and Kierkegaard and state whether you agree with the one or the other. Provide justification for your position. 3. Through his account of the story of Abraham and Isaac, Kierkegaard can be seen as arguing that all responsible decision involves making sacrifices (i.e., a sacrifice of myself for others, and a sacrifice of every other person who is not the one I have decided to help). Kierkegaard thinks that this religious, sacrificial element in all responsible decision rules out the possibility of a universal, rationalistic ethics. Outline Kierkegaard’s account of the sacrificial element in responsible decisions. Do you agree or disagree with his position? Why or why not? 4. Outline Kierkegaard’s account of the relation between religion (i.e., a passion for secrecy) and ethics (i.e., a passion for public engagement and justice) and state what you think this reveals about the nature of religion and ethics. 5. Jean-Paul Sartre disagrees with the belief on the part of Aristotle and others that human beings possess an intrinsic ‘essence’ or ‘nature.’ Outline why Sartre believes this to be the case and explain what it entails for his conception of ethical responsibility. 6. Sartre maintains that his existential ethics can provide human beings with a newfound sense of optimism and joy. Why does he believe this? Do you agree or disagree with him? Why or why not? 7. Simone de Beauvoir identifies various archetypes in our moral development (e.g., the subman, the serious man, the nihilist, the passionate person, and the person of genuine freedom). Outline these archetypes and explain what de Beauvoir’s account of genuine freedom reveals about the nature of meaning and value. What similarities, if any, are there between her position and that of Aristotle on this matter?
