Second Essay Assignment

Returning to Life Within the Truth

Everywhere I go, I hear that we are living in an era of “post-truth.” In our age, I am told, truth is up for grabs. Only people’s feelings count. They would rather accept what they hear on cable TV networks or read on social media than accept the challenge of “living within the truth.”  To allay my anxiety, I decide to organize yet another of my little soirées. Since you were such an insightful guest at my last meal, I invite you first.  Then, I invite John Stuart Mill and Vaclav Havel. Because they are both experts on truth-telling, I am certain they will provide me with the reassurance I need that we can return to a time of normalcy.

Once I am certain that everyone is adhering to our COVID protocols, I invite Havel and Mill to begin the discussion.  “So, Vaclav and John Stuart, tell me what conditions are required to embolden people to live within the truth.

Putting down his fork, Vaclav speaks first:  “The specific nature of post-totalitarian conditions—with their absence of a normal political life and the fact that any far-reaching political change is unforeseeable—has one positive aspect:  it compels us to examine our situation in its deeper coherences and to consider our future in the context of the global, long-range prospects of the world.  The most intrinsic and fundamental contradiction between human beings and the system takes place at a level incomparably more profound than that of liberal democratic politics.”

John Stuart’s face immediately reddens and he retorts: “That’s totally absurd, Vaclav.  The demonstrable benefits of the modern liberal-democratic system provide people with a far greater incentive to ‘live within the truth’ than you would ever find under post-totalitarian rule!”

Now Havel is standing, holding that fork menacingly in his hands:  “Oh, yeah?” he declares, “In your so-called liberal system, my greengrocer might never have rebelled. And then nobody would be living in the truth!”

Yikes! I was so sure Havel and Mill would agree with each other. And yet, the two thinkers clearly have different ideas about which system–post-totalitarianism or liberal democracy–is likely to spur people to live within the truth.  My despair grows. I am also worried about what might happen with that fork.

Because I don’t want to get in the middle of this fight, I decide to pass the buck to you. “So,” I inquire:  “Who is right, Vaclav or John Stuart?  And as you know, please don’t waffle since there is no way to satisfy both of my guests.  I insist that you choose sides!”

Assignment:

Please respond to this question in an essay of 3-4 pages (but no more than 4).  Your response should be typed, double-spaced, and use 12 point font.

Note:  I have slightly modified the quotation from Havel’s “Power or the Powerless” (pp. 205-6) to make this assignment work; rather than using his term “traditional politics,” I have inserted “liberal democratic politics” (since that is what I think he means).

We will evaluate your essay according to four criteria:

1. Your understanding of the dispute between Havel and Mill and what is at stake in choosing one side over the other
2. Your explicit identification of both arguments and counterarguments
3. Your direct use of readings to back up your points concretely
4. And, importantly, your demonstrated ability to think for yourself

I have no objection if you discuss this assignment with your classmates before you start the essay. However, once you have begun writing it, please do not share your work with anyone, aside from your TA and me, or an adviser at the Writing Center. Your essay must be absolutely, totally, irrefutably, and unmistakably your own work. Remember the Honor Code to which you have affixed your signature!

As always, I am a veritable font of advice.

Read this assignment closely the moment you receive it. It may seem complicated at first. If you allow its elements to swish around through your cerebral cortex, you will find that they all flow together.

Do not put this assignment off until the last moment. If you do so, you will not be a happy camper and neither will we.

Seek the advice and counsel of both your TA and me.  We will be glad to read your intro paragraph and the first sentence of your second paragraph if you send it to us soon.

Visit the Writing Center. There is no end to learning how to write better.  I am still trying to become a better writer.

You have a week to complete this assignment.  You must turn in your essay to your TA no later than 12:00 noon next Saturday, October 17.

Your TA will tell you how and where you should turn in your essay.  Late papers will be docked 1/3 of a letter grade for each day they are late.

Good luck!