Assignment for Group #1, Due on Tuesday

Note: I posted this assignment on the wrong blog several days ago. Any time that I should have posted something and didn't, let me now.

Consequently: This will be due this week. I assume that some of you won't have it done for Tuesday, though. As long as the revised versions are ready for next Tuesday, whatever timeline you work out with your partners is fine.

Assignment: Note: Be sure to have finished Enough for Tuesday as well.

Assignment: On page 94 of Enough, McKibben briefly refers to an essay collection by Wendell Berry, entitled What Are People For? This idea, or question, is much like the cliched question "what is the meaning of life?" I would argue that Berry formulates it this way, and McKibben references this version, to put the focus squarely on human life. Rather than asking (perhaps selfishly or short-sightedly) what the meaning of our individual lives and rather than asking in some abstract way what some kind of generic life (human? animal? post-human? pre-human?) is for, McKibben and Berry are focused on the meaning of human life life. The question is more abstract than asking "what is the meaning of my life?" and more focused than asking "what is the meaning of life?"

For this assignment, you want to formulate some kind of answer to the question "What are people for?" While the essay can be personal, you should make use of McKibben and at least one other author we've read this semester. This would be a good opportunity to bring in outside sources, if you wish. Remember, though, that this isn't strictly personal; you are trying to convince us that your understanding of what people are for is correct, or at least valuable.