Your thoughts on the Philosophy of Individualism

To understand, apply and evaluate Emerson and Thoreau and their thoughts on individualism.
Points: 15 points
Steps

1. Think back on the philosophy of individualism as presented by Emerson and Thoreau in our
lecture. Pick one selection from the excerpt from Thoreau’s Walden and one selection from the
excerpt from Emerson’s Self–Reliance to analyze. The length of the selection is up to you;
choose whatever works best for you in writing the essay.

2. Cut and paste the two sections that you plan to analyze to your assignment sheet.

3. For each of the selections that you chose to analyze do the following.

A. Explain the quote in your own words. Say what you think the author is getting at and
what it means.

B. Say what you think our lives would be like if we adopted this philosophy. Be specific
with some examples of how we would think and behave differently if we adopted this
perspective.

C. Give your reasons for agreeing or disagreeing with the thoughts presented in this
paragraph. Again, be specific. Say why you agree or disagree with the philosophy
and why you would or would not like to see us as Americans living by that
philosophy.

4. you will post your essay to the whole class discussion thread (not the group threads). For
this assignment you will not be able to view the posts of your classmates until after you post
your own work. Your assignment should be at least 1 ½ pages (500 words). The 500 word
count is your own input, not counting the quoted material. Essay worth 12 points

5. Evaluate the work of at least 1 of your classmates. In each reply explain, A.) one thing you
liked about his or her post, an B.) one way in which your thinking is different from the thinking
expressed in that post. – Replies worth 3 points