assignment & 7

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For this assignment, I would like to think about the three texts that we have read so far for Unit 2 (from imanual Kant, Mill, and Hayek) and start the process of bringing different voices into conversation with each other. 

As we discussed in class, there are three sorts of levels on which you can discuss multiple voices. 

  • The first level is that of superficial relationships. At this level, you simply notice similarities and differences (and other types of relationships) that occur “on the surface” — at, that is, the level of just the texts themselves. This level tends to be objective and therefore similar across multiple observers since we are just noticing things that are readily apparent to any reader or observer (like the number of seats at baseball parks). In other words, most readers of these texts would likely produce similar “superficial” observations. 
  • The second level is that of analysis. Here, you look at the superficial relationships you’ve already noticed and start to articulate “because” statements. “All these texts share a similar view of X because …” “All these texts ignore Y because…”
  • The third level is argumentation. Here, you draw conclusions about the significance of the analytical observations you made at the second level. In other words, you start to make claims as to the larger meaning, importance, and value of the analytical observations. (E.g., “All the texts focus on freedom as being able to make choices because they share assumptions about what individualism is. And so this demonstrates X about their views of freedom …”)

For this assignment, I would like you to write

  • one paragraph about the superficial relationships between the three texts, in which you present how the texts seem to relate to each other in terms of themes, ideas, claims, examples, and so on. There are potentially myriad ways in which they relate like this, so you will have to exercise some selectivity: present only those several relationships that you think will prove valuable and significant at the later levels; 
  • one paragraph of analysis, in which you present analytical observations about why the similarities and differences in the previous paragraph exist. What explains them? Why do they share (or not share) certain qualities, examples, and so on? At this stage, you will likely want to select 2 or 3 main comparisons and focus on them. This will allow you to provide greater depth of analysis
  • finally, write one sentence as an attempt at an argumentative claim. This might be hard, but give it your best shot: tell us what sort of conclusions you can draw from the analytical observations that have arisen from your superficial comparisons. Try to complete a sentence that starts “And so …” For instance, “And so, this shows us that…” or “And so, this is important because …”