gramsci, descartes, marx
This is an EXTREMELY important final assignment based on 3 readings by three philosophers. There are 3 questions that need to be answered in essay form, and one quote that needss to be interpreted in atleast a paragraph. The FIRST question is the most important one and should be the first 3 pages of this assignment. The 3 readings are Antonio Gramsci’s, "the study of philosophy", Rene Descarte’s "discourse on the method" first ten pages of the reading, and lastly, Rius’ "marx for beginners" on karl marx.

1) first THREE pages need to be descriptive and elaborative and cannot be cited for this question. This question needs to be answered by you but quotes from the philosophers may be used.

Keeping in mind Gramsci’s idea about the role of philosophy as an active force in shaping the world and of its importance for historical change, discuss your encounter with these three philosophers from these readings, their crucial ideas and how they have either influenced or changed your perspectives on how to do an inquiry, how to act ethically in the world, and how to change things in a local, and/or global sense. In the final two paragraphs of this question, discuss some of the possibilites that these thinkers may have opened for you.

2) Next TWO pages for this question

For Karl Marx, history is thought of differently than linear narrative or as a series of great acts and events. How does Marx conceptualize history and what are the mechanisms he shows at work in the movement of history? Who is the dominent class and what are its salient features?

3) 1.5 pages for this question..

Discuss the historical position that Rene Descartes occupies in the history of philosophy; in other words, how does he change the world. Elaborate on his philosophical method and trace the steps from his criticism of the schools, the four sufficient rules of logic, and the provisional moral code to the founding act of the cogito.