Paper Assignment
Your Paper is your final.
Paper Topic: 100 points total; 20% of your class grade.
In commenting on the two great themes of Western political philosophy, Glenn Tinder states:
This … brings us to a position overlooking one of the great chasms in the Western political mind. On one side lies what can be called the ‘politics of redemption” … [holding] that the goal of politics and of political thought is a life on earth that is altogether good. There are no great, unconquerable evils in human nature or in the essential structure of earthly life. Felicity is not a gift of God, nor is it reserved for a heavenly existence or a time after death. It can be attained through human wisdom and planning here on earth. …
On the other side of the chasm lies … “the politics of convenience.” This is a politics based either on skepticism about the capacities of human beings and the possibilities of life on earth, … or on satisfaction with things as they are. Both attitudes prompt a politics of low expectations and low demands, since the world either cannot or need not be much improved. Government is not called upon to bring salvation but only to enhance the convenience of life.
From the list of political thinkers we have taken up in this class, choose one thinker exemplifying what Tinder calls the “politics of redemption” and one thinker exemplifying what Tinder refers to as the “politics of convenience.”
Then,
1) Summarize the main themes of their political philosophy regarding the individual and the kind of political arena they wish to achieve. Citing paragraphs and page numbers from Somerville and Santoni. [30 points]
2) Place your thinker in one or the other category mentioned by Tinder and defend your choice by marshalling arguments from passages (quotes) of the thinker and from commentaries on the thinker you may have gathered from your own research (Be sure to check with your professor that your sources are academically valid and solid sources). [40 points]
3) Choose relevant chapter(s) from Tinder’s book and relevant the articles posted on the Canvas page and your own research to tie the above discussion to the most current state of affairs. [30 points]
This paper is not an “opinion” paper, but rather a research paper, where your arguments need to be supported by quotes and sources.
Format and length of paper: Format is MLA with 1 1/2/spacing and 12 point font. Length of paper 10-12 pages and works cited.
Due date: Uploaded on Canvas, by Friday, May 17, 2024, 11:50 pm
Some political theorist you could use are plato, aristotle
could I also please get a plagerism report thank you
