Question:
“Hegel, in Reason in History, offers a definition of true freedom, which he terms positive freedom. What is positive freedom, according to Hegel? Why is the freedom posited by liberalism- or negative freedom-not true freedom, according to Hegel? Examine how previous thinkers, Hobbes, Rousseau, and Constant, engaged in a debate regarding the meaning of freedom before Hegel had, in fact, introduced these terms into the debate. What is at stake in this debate? What are the potential disadvantages of each type of freedom? Your thesis should offer a brief encapsulation of your specific findings.”
Instructions:
1. Response to the prompt. The paper should address all of the issues contained in the prompt.
This criterion includes making full use of the works or aspects of the works that the prompt demands.
2. Thesis. The paper should present a precise and clearly stated thesis in the introduction. The thesis statement is your ultimate conclusion. The paper should support that thesis consistently and avoid adducing arguments that are not relevant to it.
Beware: The thesis statement does not merely explain what your topic is or how you will go about exploring it.
3. Evidence. The paper should provide abundant textual evidence to support its thesis. Be sure to interpret that evidence to establish its significance. Again, you must provide all appropriate publication information in your bibliography.
4. Writing. The writing should be clear and effective. Improper grammar, inappropriate word choice, and typos all detract from the paper’s effectiveness. Because this is formal writing, you should not use colloquialisms-including “to take a deep dive” into a topic.
5. Overall grasp of the material. The paper should display a sense of the issues at stake in these texts. Errors in understanding the texts are particularly costly.
6. Insight. The best papers go beyond what was said in class and recitations. The very best papers offer an original insight either into a particular passage or into an approach to a question.
Please use the following sources:
1: Hegel, Reason in History, trans Robert Hartman Library of Liberal Arts
2: Hobbes, Levithan, ed Edwin Curley,
3: Hackett
Rousseau, major political writings of jean jacques rousseau, trans. John T.Scott university of Chicago
