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CHAPTER 10: Reading in the Humanities
TEST A
STEP 1.
Read the two philosophical excerpts below. Keep in mind the questions that your
textbook emphasized as critical in understanding the disciplines of philosophy: “What is the
philosophical issue at hand?” and “What branch of philosophy is being addressed?” Also
remember to consider: “What is the main point the author is trying to get across?” and “What is
the purpose of the passage?”
STEP 2
.
After considering these questions, write an essay summarizing your thoughts about
each excerpt. Be sure to address all of the questions mentioned in STEP 1.
(A) The great malady of the twentieth century, implicated in all of our troubles and affecting us
individually and socially, is “loss of soul.” When soul is neglected, troubles don’t just go away;
they appear symptomatically in obsessions, addictions, violence, and loss of meaning. Our
temptation is to isolate these symptoms or to try to eradicate them one by one; but the root
problem is that we have lost our wisdom about the soul, even our interest in it. “Soul” is not a
thing, but a quality or a dimension of experiencing life and ourselves. If I see my responsibility
to myself, to a friend, or to a patient in therapy as observing and respecting what the soul
presents, I won’t try to take things away in the name of health. It’s remarkable how often people
think they will be better off without the things that bother them. “Help me get rid of these
feelings of inferiority and my smoking and my bad marriage.” If as a therapist, I did what I was
told, I’d be taking things away from people all day long. But I don’t try to eradicate problems.
When people observe the ways in which the soul is manifesting itself, they receive back what is
theirs, the very thing they have assumed to be so horrible that it should be cut out and tossed
away. When you regard the soul with an open mind, you begin to find the messages that lie
within the illness, the corrections that can be found in remorse and uncomfortable feelings, and
the necessary changes requested by depression and anxiety.
[Moore, Thomas.
Care of the Soul
. New York: Harper Perennial, 1992, pp. xi; 5-6.]
(B) Seekers for centuries have found inner peace by following the
Tao Te Ching
. Translated
more than any book but the Bible, Lao Tzu’s volume of 5,000 words has helped people live
through turbulent times by revealing the deep source of peace within. Lao Tzu wrote the Tao
over twenty-five centuries ago as a handbook for leaders. In ancient China, to lead wisely meant
to live wisely, to seek personal balance and integration with the cycles of nature. Lao Tzu’s
teachings assume special importance today as we seek not only peace of mind but peace in our
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