Journal Entries

1. Please read the first three chapter of West's Hope on a Tightrope.  Also read or listen to Obama's Inaugural Address if you haven't done so already.  For your first journal entry, try to define some things about your philosophy of life by responding to West and Obama.

2. Discuss your response to Socrates' claim that the unexamined life is not worth living.  Is he right?  What aspects of your life and beliefs have you examined?  Did this lead to changes?  Are there other beliefs that you believe that you should examine?

3. Descartes presents an argument for the existence of God in Meditation 3.  Do you think this is a good argument?  why or why not?  Consider both validity and soundness.

4.  Give your response to some part of Waking Life.  Be sure to focus on its philosophical aspects.  You might consider whether film is a good medium within which to present philosophical questions.

5.  Carefully review the Sermon on the Mount.  Do you agree with the ideas about morality that Jesus puts forth here.  Please be very specific.  For example, if you think violence is ever acceptable, you will need to disagree with what he said about violence.

6.  What do you think of the overman and the last man as put forward by Zarathustra in the Prologue?

7.  Evaluate Nietzsche critique of Christian morality.  Do you agree or disagree?  (In answering this question, reflect on what you said in answering question 5.)

8. Do you think that the addition of eternal recurrence to Thus Spoke Zarathustra is a confusing distraction or an device that enriches the philosophical meaning of the text?  Defend your viewpoint.

9.  Give your overall evaluation of Thus Spoke Zarathustra.  Discuss what you like and what you disliked.  Remember to explain your reasoning.  It is appropriate to draw from examples in your own experiences in doing this.

10. If you have watched Gandhi or Bapu, My Father, give your reaction to the film and to Gandhi's life as portrayed there.

11. The essay on Gandhi is the main requirement.  Unlike other journal entries, this essay must have a thesis that you systematically defend.  The topic for the essay is whether and how Gandhi's idea of non-violence may be applicable to contemporary crises.  It should be 750 words.

12. In responding to West, please give your overall critique, but also pick one theme that particularly interests you.  Describe West's position on this theme, and give your critical response.  For example, you might discuss what he says about religion, democracy, education, or music.  In doing this, do not just discuss the way in which the theme is handled in one chapter.

13. Finish your journal by offering a reflection on the entire semester.  If your philosophical views have changed, please note these changes.  If your views haven't changed, you might discuss ways in which you can now argue more effectively for your original views.  This journal entry also gives you an opportunity to review earlier philosophers whose works you might not have discussed in enough detail or to answer the questions that I posed in commenting on your earlier journals.

Remember that you should include your event responses and your proofs of attendance with your journal.

Author: Hollace Graff,
Oakton Community College
Last updated: April 27, 2009