Outline the perspectives advanced by the main thinkers in the unit on the topic. Advance your own perspective, then defend your perspective against the objections the main thinkers would raise. The best way to avoid accidently contradicting yourself is to think about your argument for five minutes before you write. You may find you need to adjust your claims or argue a different case entirely.

Bryan Larsen paints the individual as a heroic being, enjoying the glory of life in a rational universe. The world he shows us is a free, joyous, intelligent paradise – a paradise which can (and ought to) be achieved.

Russians demand freedom – but reject egoism; they demand rights – but cannot explain what rights are; they want progress– but they cling to tradition; they want reason – but they cling to mysticism; they want science – but they cling to religion. Westerners wonder how such absurdity is possible. How can a people every bit as intelligent as us (and in several aspects better educated) tolerate such injustice for so long? How can they continue to support a psychopath like Putin after the 90’s, after having caught a fleeting glimpse of freedom? How can anyone support the system which takes their own son to be shot on some battlefield in a foreign country?

Philosophy is the invisible force that moves the world.