Choose ONE of the two essay topics below. Your essay should be approximately 100
Choose ONE of the two essay topics below. Your essay should be approximately 1000 words (but you have some leeway in both directions; quality is far more important than quantity) and should be uploaded as a PDF file to Quercus by 11:59pm on October 13, 2023. Please double-space and use a 12-point, easy-to-read font.
1. Spinoza’s recommended method for the true interpretation of scriipture in the Theological-Political Treatise gives certainty about scriipture’s meaning a central place. Explain how Spinoza’s emphasis on a certainty as part of a scientific method relates his (presumption of his) audience’s interest in piety.
2. According to Hume, there are two questions regarding religion that demand our attention: one about its foundation in reason and another about its origins in human nature. Although he claims to set aside the first to focus on the second in “The Natural History of Religion,” it seems to many interpreters that he uses the second to address the first. Explain how he does, and then assess the implications of this argument for the methodological assumptions in the study of religion.
A sensible way to structure either of these papers is as follows:
1. A brief intro that tells your reader what your paper will do and how it will do it (probably not more than 100 words)
2. A section in which Spinoza’s method or Hume’s argument is explained (figure about 500-600 words)
3. A section in which you offer an argument assessing something in the view which the previous section explained (figure about 300-400 words)
4. A very brief conclusion indicating what you have (and, if helpful, haven’t) done in the paper (approximately 75 words, maybe less)
That structure is just a suggestion. Everything about your handling of either topic – including the organization of the paper – is up to your discretion.
Citations can be done in any standard format; it is your decision. Whichever format you choose, you should apply it consistently and make sure it is as easy as possible for your reader to look up the source of your quotations and paraphrases. This is not a research paper, so there’s no expectation that you will use any sources other than the primary ones discussed in class. If you do use other sources, please cite them. There is no need to cite lecture notes. If you do use them, do not view them as authoritative; in other words, you are responsible for every interpretative and evaluative claim in your paper.
Grading Criteria
This assignment is meant to provide you with an opportunity to demonstrate the skills and knowledge central to our course. Hence, your paper’s quality depends on how well it demonstrates the following:
1. A thoughtful understanding of the texts that you are analyzing
2. A serious effort to grapple with a contested or contestable issue by taking a position on it
3. Well-organized thoughts (which show a mastery of the topic)
Engaging prose
