Fundamentals of Humanistic Thought
Fundamentals of Humanistic Thought
Fundamentals of Humanistic Thought Fall 2022
Midterm Assignment
General Instructions – please read carefully!
Group work: This assignment should be carried out in a group of up to three students. Group assignments are designed to encourage a dialogue and exchange of ideas between the members of each group. Group assignments make a good opportunity to show originality and competitiveness, and a chance to be rewarded for this. Group assignments also allow fair distribution of tasks among the members of the group. When taken seriously, group work can be fun and engaging. Please make it so. One member of the group will be the group representative. The group representative is responsible for a timely submission of the group work by uploading it to the course website before the deadline.
Format: This midterm paper should not be much longer than a total of two pages (not including the appendix), typed in standard font (Time New Roman or Arial) size 12, 1.5 lines spacing, justified (aligned both to the left and the right margins). with Normal margins! (i.e., 3.18 cm left/right and 2.54 cm top/bottom). Writing style should be academic, clear and succinct. Use proper academic reference whenever you rely on sources, either printed or electronic.
Descartes, the Dream Argument and the Mind-Body Problem in Popular Culture
This assignment invites you to creatively explore some of the concepts and themes, which are closely associated with the philosophical work of Descartes and the ensuing “mind-body problem”, in the context of their current cinematic representation. This is an opportunity to think seriously and deeply about the way philosophical thinking permeates and invigorates popular culture. Please read the instructions and follow them very carefully.
- Choose one of the cool films from the following list and watch it together. Take the time to discuss the film after watching it. Please note that for this assignment we will not accept a discussion of any film other than those on the list.
Each of these films concern one of the themes which we touched upon in the first half of our course in this semester: The dream argument or the mind-body problem.
- Doctor Who – episode 253 – Christmas special – “Last Christmas”
- Nightmare on Elm Street (Wes Craven, 1984)
- Being John Malkovich (1999)
- Total Recall (Paul Verhoeven, 1990)
- Identify the main relevant philosophical issue or problem in the film or episode, which you have chosen. Explain the philosophical issue or problem in your own words without reference to the narrative of the film. That is, explain the general philosophical issue at hand with reference to Descartes’ ideas and/or the mind-body problem, using only the relevant readings that were discussed in class. In this paper, do not choose more than one philosophical issue! Make sure the relevant context is mentioned. Do not describe everything we’ve learned about Descartes, but only the relevant philosophical ideas.
- Explain the specific ways in which the film employs, handles and develops this general philosophical issue. You may want to refer in this regard to the plot, the characters, the design of the film (for example, the use of special effects) etc.
- Describe and explain in detail one key scene (or more) in the film, which exemplifies vividly the philosophical issue at hand.
- Offer your candid critical thoughts about the way in which the film handles this philosophical issue. Is the film successful in integrating the philosophical ideas into a coherent story? Is the film successful in making those ideas sufficiently powerful/dramatic/scary/funny? Please elaborate.
