Manhattanville College FYP.1001PL.01 – Life as Meaningful Dr. Paul Kucharski Paper Topics: Essay #1 On p. 44 in Man's Search for Meaning, Viktor Frankl states that ‘it is possible to practice the art of living even in a concentration camp, although suffering is omnipresent.’ Write a paper in which you unpack and explain what Frankl means by this claim: First, explain what he means by “the art of living” – in what sense can living be a kind of art form, and where in the text are there examples of someone practicing the art of living? Second, list the different kinds of suffering experienced by those in the camp (physical suffering would be the obvious one). Be sure to provide examples. Then, based on your reading of the text, discuss which of the different kinds of suffering most hindered the ability of the prisoners to practice the art of living. Finally, reflect upon the following: if it is true that the art of living can be practiced even in horrific circumstances, what does this say about the human condition? Essay #2 Write a paper in which you compare and contrast Josef Pieper and Matthew Crawford on the topic of work. Begin with Pieper. In his essay, “Work, Spare Time, and Leisure,” how does Pieper characterize work? Why do we work? What does work do for us? How does Pieper define leisure, and what does he see to be the relationship between work and leisure? Next, turn to Crawford. In Shopclass as Soul Craft, how does he characterize work? What does he think work does for us? Is Crawford's account of work different from Pieper's? If so, how? [You've read almost an entire book by Crawford and only one short essay by Pieper, and so obviously you've gotten more detailed thoughts from Crawford; what I'm interested in is whether you think that Crawford's account of work is the same as Pieper's, only with more detail, or that it's a fundamentally different account.] Finally, even if you think that there are important differences in how Crawford and Pieper understand work, do you think that Crawford would agree with what Pieper has to say about the relationship between work and leisure? Explain. Essay #3 In English, the word "love" is used in many different ways. You and I say that we love our friends, our family, and our significant others. We might profess love for a pet, a place, or a book. We might devoutly assert that we love God. Once I even heard a man say that he loves jogging (I'm pretty sure he was insane, but that's beside the point). In sum, "love" is a flexible term, and so its meaning is not always clear. In The Four Loves, C. S. Lewis analyzes what he takes to be the four main kinds of human loves: affection, friendship, Eros, and charity. His method is to identify each love's defining traits, as well as its particular virtues and vices (friendship, for example, can enrich one's life in any number of ways, but it can also encourage a false sense of superiority toward those outside of one's social circle). Write an essay in which you critically evaluate Lewis's treatment of one of the four loves (pick only one): - First, explain how Lewis defines the love in question. What are its essential traits? Where can we find paradigmatic instances? - Second, explain what Lewis takes to be the virtues and vices (or benefits and dangers) of the love in question. - Finally, critically evaluate Lewis's account. Do you think that his definition is a good one? And/or do you agree with his critical assessment? Keep in mind that Lewis writes about 30 pages on each of the four loves, so take a "less is more" approach to your critical evaluation. Identify one or two of Lewis's central claims, and then explain why you do or do not agree with what he says.
