Modern Legacies
Final Exam Study Guide, spring 2010

Exam Date:

Thursday, April 29, 2010 1:00-3:00 p.m.

Guidelines:

• You must bring your own green examination booklet to the exam. Do not write your name on this book.
• You may not bring any books or notes with you to the exam.

Part One: Short Essay Questions

• Eight of the ten questions below will appear on the final exam. You will choose six to answer.
• Each question is to be answered in essay format.
• Each question is worth 15 points for a total of 90 points possible.

1. How does René Descartes usher in the modern condition through his philosophical analysis in Meditations on First Philosophy? If we think of the modern condition as one in which rationality, humanism, science and enlightenment are at the forefront, how does Descartes’ method ground these endeavors?

2. Voltaire’s Candide is an excoriating critique of the position of philosophical and theological optimism. How does it enact this critique? Provide specific examples from the text to illustrate how Voltaire challenges the Enlightenment’s belief that we are emerging into a new era of hope and accomplishment.

3. Immanuel Kant claims that we have entered an age of enlightenment in his essay, “What is Enlightenment?” What is required of individuals and society if this enlightenment is to continue? How must we act privately and publically? What is the role of the state in this process of enlightenment?

4. Mary Wollstonecraft provides a critique of Enlightenment thought while maintaining a fervent belief in its fundamental presuppositions and goals. What aspects of the tradition does Wollstonecraft adhere to? What does she criticize about the theories of rationality and why? What are her ultimate goals in A Vindication of the Rights of Woman?

5. Mary Shelley’s novel, Frankenstein depicts a monster that is both subject of and master over his creator. How does the relationship between Dr. Frankenstein and the monster illustrate the struggle in modernity between the accomplishments of science and their unintended and often dangerous results?

6. Why does Goethe depict Mephistopheles in the unique way that he does in Faust? What peculiar characteristics does Mephistopheles exhibit in his relationship with Dr. Faust? Does his relationship to his chosen victim make him more or less evil than the stereotypical view of the devil with a pitchfork? Why doesn’t Mephistopheles appear in the more traditional way?

7. Friedrich Nietzsche’s Birth of Tragedy describes two competing yet equally necessary artistic forces: the Apollinian and the Dionysian. Carefully describe each of these tendencies and explain how they relate to each other in Greek art. Then, detail how the unique harmony between them achieved in Attic tragedy gives way to the ascendency of the Socratic tendency. What are the dangerous effects of the Socratic impulse on the development of Western culture?

8. Sigmund Freud details the ways in which civilization increasingly suffers, even as it seems to accomplish greater and more marvelous things: technological and scientific advancement, stricter and more effective morality, more complex social arrangements, etc. Why do we still suffer in civilization? Be sure to address the key points such as: the workings of instincts and drives, the processes of sublimation and repression, the tendencies toward aggression and love, etc.

9. Michel Foucault’s Discipline and Punish argues that due to the ineffectiveness of the prison system at eliminating crime, this method of punishment does not actually aim at eliminating offences. What, then, is its purpose, according to Foucault? How does the prison system relate to the greater society outside of the prison walls? Be sure to address issues such as power, panopticism, docile bodies and correct training in your answer.

10. Alduous Huxley’s Brave New World describes a society that is, from a certain perspective, utopian. What qualities does this society have that make everything “work” so well? What is this state’s relationship to the reservation of Malpais? How do these two societies relate to each other/depend upon each other? What happens when members from each culture cross the border into the other?

Part Two: Required Short Essay Question

• You must answer this question.
• This question is worth up to 10 points possible.

1. What has been your favorite work we have read this semester and why? Be sure to provide an adequate response to this question that includes detailed reasons for your choice. Reference specific characters, events, theories and/or plot points which demonstrate your understanding of the text. If you choose to write on a work that is also the subject of one of your short answers from Part One above, be sure to provide different points in this answer.