Present a well-researched discussion about a world-view
with a substantial theory about human nature; i.e. a philosophical conception of what it is
to be human. You may choose any topic that falls in this broad description, as long as it is not a
topic already discussed in class. Note that this is a philosophy assignment, not a “book report”.
So you need to show in your discussion that a real philosophical dilemma is present. Thus your
presentation must answer these questions:
• What (briefly) is the origin and history of this worldview? Its founders, the social or
cultural world from which it emerged, etc.
• What is your chosen worldview’s statement of the problem in human life? (i.e. why we
do wrong, why we suffer, why there is injustice, etc.)
• What is its solution to that problem?
• In your rational judgment, does this worldview pass or fail, in whole or in part,
Schweitzer’s three criteria for an acceptable world view? Why?
Your topic could be about any world view, religious community, body of mythology, scientific
theory, etc. You need not choose a topic that covers all the ‘big’ questions: it doesn’t have to be a
theory of everything. It need not be a theory that you find rationally acceptable: for instance, you
might present an argument for why the theory fails one or more of Schweitzer’s criteria. But you
must choose a topic that makes a substantial and serious claim about human nature, what we
human beings are, and what ‘the human condition’ ultimately is. For example:
• The environmental movement
Sample Solution