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Philosophy Final Paper, Film Options
Philosophy
Dr. Weiselberg
Final Paper - Film Options
Guidelines for Film Options:
No matter which question from this option that you choose, you must:
1. Defend your choice with reference to philosophical concepts covered in this course.
2. Argue from a philosophical, not a “realistic” standpoint; that is, don't get hung up on the physical details (unless they are philosophically relevant).
3. You may use first person (“I”), but don't overdo it. Use first person to explain what you would choose, but do not use first person when discussing the reasons for your choice. When discussing philosophical issues, use language appropriate for an academic essay using expository language.
4. Assume that your reader is educated, but has not seen the film or has not paid much attention, and has never taken a philosophy course. Describe settings, events and scenes in detail. Use quotes when necessary.
5. You may (and probably should) refer to the other films on this list, as well as other relevant films, regardless of which one you choose.
6. The questions literally ask you to simply take one side, but obviously you should defend your choice. Instead of simply making your point, you should also try to disprove counter-arguments.
7. Even though the question you choose might be most appropriate to only one of the main areas of philosophy - metaphysics, epistemology or ethics - consider how your choice reflects the relationship of these three areas.
Film Question Options:
1. In The Matrix, Morpheus offers Neo a choice - “You take the blue pill, the story ends, you wake up in your bed, and [you] believe whatever you want to believe… you take the red pill, you stay in Wonderland, and I show you how deep the rabbit hole goes.” Which one would you take?
2. In 2001: A Space Odyssey, Dave Bowman encounters alien intelligence while on a mission to Jupiter. Presumably, these alien beings offer insight into the nature of reality, and they may have been responsible for the birth of human consciousness on Earth. If you had the choice, would you remain with it/them, or would you return to Earth?
3. In Run Lola Run, the actions of the two main characters have implications for the people around them (and vice versa). Imagine you are a lawyer in the hypothetical case of The People v. Lola and Manni, where these two main characters are accused of exercising unethical behavior and disrupting the natural metaphysical order. Would you choose to prosecute or defend them?
4. In Blade Runner, Deckard is sent to retire four rogue Replicants. Imagine you are Deckard (or another Blade Runner who is cognizant of Deckard's experiences with these four Replicants), and that you discovered several other Replicants on Earth who are from the same Nexus 6 batch as Roy Batty. Unlike Batty, however, these Replicants have seventy-year life spans. Would you retire them, or let them “live”?
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