Reference no: EM133422916

Assignment:

1. "Thoughts For the Times on War and Death," Freud says that "there are very many more cultural hypocrites than truly civilized men-indeed, it is a debatable point whether a certain degree of cultural hypocrisy is not indispensable for the maintenance of civilization." What does he mean by "hypocrisy" here, and how is it that this hypocrisy can benefit society?

2. According to Walter Rodney, "the very act of making tools was a stimulus to increasing rationality rather than the consequence of a fully matured intellect." How exactly, in his view, does technological development contribute (either directly or indirectly) to societal rationality, and what does this mean for his concept of human nature?

3. What, for Fanon, is the role of political leadership?

4. Each of the three authors discussed so far in this course has given us an account of human history driven by conflicts that are largely out of our control as individuals-the conflict between social classes, for Rodney and Fanon, or, for Freud, that between human nature and social morality. Yet each also gives us a concept of development or progress through which people can gain greater control over their individual circumstances. How do historical circumstances shape who we are, and is it really possible for us to gain some kind of control over them? Give at least one thinker's answer to this question, and explain why you do or do not find it compelling. You may refer to points made in the previous answers to support your argument in this one.