Description
1) Reason and Faith
Part I: This essay is meant to let you imagine a conversation between Kant and Tolstoy on the subject of faith using the following episode as the springboard.
In his “Confession,” Tolstoy recounts being offered communion by a priest who “asked me to repeat what I believed and that what I was about to swallow was actually flesh and blood, it cut me to the heart; this was a small but false note, a cruel demand forced on someone who obviously had never had any idea of what faith was.”
If Tolstoy had shared this experience with Kant, how would he have responded? How would he have responded in turn? You may either write an 5-6 pages essay, supporting your arguments with quotations from the three authors or you may invent a conversation between Tolstoy and Kant. If you choose this option, your dialogue should be three pages, accompanied by a 2-3 page meta-critique (see below). The dialogue may include quotations from the three authors in the form of “As I said in…” or you may use paraphrase, referencing a section in the text which supports the lines you have written in a footnote (for example, this statement reflects Kant’s illustration of how a Good Will manifests itself, as found in Groundwork, 13).
Part II: Write a meta-critique of your dialogue, explaining the positions of each author and why you believe their positions accurately reflect the ideas of the historical person.
Sample Solution