NOTE: YOU MAY ALSO USE JOHN CALVIN’S INSTITUTES OF THE CHRISTIAN RELIGION for this paper. I neglected to include it in the list.

The History of Western Civilization I

Fall 2011

Hunziker

Paper #2

Due: November 22, 2011

Let us therefore hold it for certain and firmly established that the soul can do without everything except the word of God, without which none at all of its wants are provided for. But, having the word, it is rich and wants for nothing, since that is the word of life, of truth, of light, of peace, of justification, of salvation, of joy, of liberty, of wisdom, of virtue, of grace, of glory, and of every good thing.

--Martin Luther, "On Christian Freedom".

Assignment: Write a critical essay of between 1200 and 1500 words (4-5 pages) on the following question:

All of the authors you have read for this course make certain assumptions about the nature of “truth” and how human beings can know (or not know) the meaning of “truth”.  Write an essay that compares and contrasts how two (2) of the authors you have read this semester define the philosophical, religious, and/or cultural meaning of truth.  Questions you should consider:

· Do they believe that an absolute truth really exists, or do they think that truth is contingent upon historical and cultural contexts as well as individual subjectivity? In other words, is truth based on context? 

· Do they hold that truth is something that the individual can actually know and be certain of, or are there limits to a human being’s knowledge of truth?  

· What methods do these authors use to gain knowledge of the truth (e.g. Socrates or Abelard)?

· What is the value of "truth" that has made it such a topic of philosophical, historical, and theological debate?

· In your view, which author provides the more perceptive definition of truth and the more effective method to attain it?  Which one comes closer to your own understanding of truth? [WE DEFINITELY WANT YOU TO ANSWER THIS QUESTION IN THE FINAL PARAGRAPH.]

In addition to offering a clearly stated thesis in the introduction, your essay should draw directly on evidence – in the form quotations – from the texts you write on. Moreover, your analysis should be rooted in the historical and cultural context in which the authors you focus on wrote. That is, be sure to demonstrate how each author was shaped, at least in part, by their historical context and culture. That is, root your analysis in the historical and cultural context.

You can (and must) use two (2) of the following texts (with some exceptions – see restrictions in the list of texts). You may use more than two, but do not need to, and might be better off sticking to two). If you would like to use a different text by one of these authors, you must first clear it with your teaching assistant or Professor Hunziker. For example, perhaps you’ve read other works by Aristotle in another class. Fine, but clear them with us first.

Note: some of these texts were not discussed in recitation, but were in your course reader and were supposed to have been read. PLEASE NOT THE DIFFERENT COMBINATIONS OF TEXTS YOU MAY USE.

1) Thucydides, History of the Peloponnesian War

2) Plato, “Apology” or “The Republic”

3) Aristotle, Ethics

4) Epicurus, “Letter to Menoeceus”

5) Polybius, The Histories

6) St. Augustine, City of God

7) Pope Gelasius I, Letter to Emperor Anastasius Dictatus Papae; Gregory VII, First Deposition and Banning of Henry IV; Gregory VII, Decrees Forbidding Lay Investiture; Gregory VII, Letter to Bishop Hermann of Metz (may use Gelasius and Gregory, but they represent one perspective).

8) Henry IV, Letter to Gregory VI and/or Marsilius of Padua, Defender of the Peace (may use both, but they represent one perspective)

9) Peter Abelard (selected writings; you may also use Bernard of Clairvaux in addition to Abelard, but not as a second text. He might work well, for example) OR Thomas Acquinas, Summar Theologica.

10) Pico della Mirandola, Oration on the Dignity of Man (You may use Innocent III, On the Misery of Man, but not as a second text.)

11) Boccaccio, Introduction to Decameron

12) Nicolò Machiavelli, The Prince

13) Martin Luther, “On the Freedom of a Christian” OR “The Jews and Their Lies”

14) JOHN CALVIN, INSTITUTES OF THE CHRISTIAN RELIGION

15) Pope Leo X, Papal Bull, 1820

16) Juan Ginés de Sepúlveda, Just War Against the Barbarians OR Bartoleme de Las Casas, Brief Account of the Devastation of the Indies (not both)

17) Galileo, “Letter to the Grand Duchess Christina of Tuscany” OR Francis Bacon, Selections from Novum Organum OR René Descartes, Selections from Discourse on Method (only one of these three texts)

There are many ways to go about writing this essay, but here are some general guidelines you should adhere to (read carefully):

• State your thesis clearly and succinctly in the introduction and pursue it consistently throughout the essay. Write strong topic sentences at the beginning of each paragraph. Avoid a conclusion that simply summarizes your paper or restates your thesis. Instead, use your conclusion to build on your argument and analysis while at the same time reminding the reader of your main point.

• You may use the first person “I” only when answering the last part of each question that asks you to provide your own opinions and personal reflections about the authors you are writing about. Please do not spend more than 15-20% of your paper (a couple of paragraphs, or 200-300 words) on this part of the paper!

• You should use direct quotations to illustrate your points, but they may not exceed 20% (200-300 words) of your essay. To cite the text, simply write the authors name and the page number, whether from a book or the course reader. For example: (Plato, “Apology,” 20). Longer quotations (more than two lines) should be put into “block” form (indented 1” from the text and single-spaced). You do not need to cite me if you bring up a point from lecture; consider what I tell you to be “general knowledge”.)

• Write clear topic sentences for each paragraph and develop smooth transitions from one paragraph to another. Some words that help maintain the smooth flow of your prose include: furthermore, in addition, moreover, however, but, as well, etc.
  
  
• Do not use other secondary sources (Wikipedia, Sparknotes, etc.). The Wikipedia or Sparknote-informed paper is very easy to spot! Instead, you should rely solely on the texts themselves, class notes, or, as a last resort, your textbook. The bulk of your essay will be an analysis and comparison of the authors and their texts; do not spend too much time recounting history, even if a few sentences about context are always helpful.

• With the permission of the Professor Hunziker or your teaching assistant, you may use other texts by the authors we have read this semester. For example, if you want to cite other texts from Thucydides or Abelard, you may, but only after you clear them in advance with Professor Hunziker or your teaching assistants (Sam, Audra, or Zaheer).

• Grammar, spelling, and proper use of the English language do count. In addition to running the spell checker, you should read your paper aloud to yourself or a friend, as that is one of the best ways to catch awkward, clumsy, and incoherent sentences. If you don’t know the difference between “its” and “it’s,” and “there,” “they’re,” and “their,” “then” and “than,” find out now.

• Your paper is due on Tuesday, November 22, in class. You must also submit a copy to Blackboard. Five points will be taken off for each calendar day that your paper is late – and remember, this paper is due before Thanksgiving, so there are a lot of calendar days between Wednesday and the Monday you return. Unstapled and emailed papers will not be accepted. You may, of course, also had in your paper earlier, during class, to your teaching assistant.

• Plagiarism, especially from sources on the Internet, is a growing problem on college campuses across the country. While this is clearly an unfortunate trend, the irony is that most plagiarized or purchased papers are of rather low quality (See this funny New York Times report from 9/10/2006 and 9/17/2006, for example). You’re much better off relying on your own good, creative analysis than stealing the uncreative, poor analysis of someone else! We will use all of the tools at our disposal to catch plagiarism, which is rather easy to do, and all cases of plagiarism will be brought to the Honor Court. Please also know that I have an electronic copy of all papers that have been submitted in my courses since the fall of 2006. It is so incredibly easy to search them all in just seconds. J So, if you’re tempted to plagiarize or use a stolen paper, you might want to first ask yourself if one paper worth 15% of the grade in your college Western Civ class is really worth jeopardizing your college career for. Probably not.

Format, Organization, and Style: We are sticklers for proper format! Your paper must be typed, double-spaced, and use a 12-point Times or Times New Roman font. Only black ink should be used. Papers submitted in any other color will not be accepted. If your printer is low on black ink, buy some more, as points will be deducted if the print is streaked, unclear, or too light. Your paper should have 1-inch margins on the top and bottom and 1.25-inch margins on the right and left (for comments). At the bottom of the page, you must include a word count and honor statement exactly as written below. Please save your paper as a Microsoft Word document and submit it to Blackboard by November 23, 2011.

This is how your paper should look:

Your Name

PID #:

History 151 - Hunziker

TA’s Name

November 23, 2011

Title of Paper (required, no more than 30 words)

Body of Paper (double spaced)

Word Count: (use the “word count” tool in MS Word; include body of the paper only; do not exceed 1600 words.)

Honor Pledge: This paper is entirely my own work. I did not plagiarize in any way or have someone else write any portion of this paper for me. (Your signature here.)