In essence, these are some of the conflicting ideas about the nature of the strongest motivator in human experience. These opposing views are discussed in the section, Three Debates in Chapter 1 of your textbook. These debates represent age-old human disagreements about what “makes the world go round.” These debates often manifest in our individual lives, particularly with respect to the important decisions we have to make at critical moments. When the debate is occurring within ourselves, we call it a dilemma. We all experience one or more of these dilemmas in the course of our lives.
Choose one of the three debates Miller describes and the conflicting values it represents. Then discuss how that debate represents a dilemma you have experienced, in other words, a debate within yourself. For example, you may have at one point had to decide between money and love. Perhaps on an important occasion, you had to decide whether to follow established rules or disregard the rules and decide your own distinct course of action. Whatever the dilemma, after you describe it, indicate on which side of the argument you eventually came down. The decision you made should tell you something about yourself, specifically what for you is an essential value.
So, what does your decision tell you about your “basic self?” What is your core value? Does your decision reveal that deep down you believe that money and nice things are the most important things in life (which makes you a cultural materialist) or that you believe that making decisions for yourself, even at some personal cost is far better than following established rules (which means you believe in individual agency)? Develop this discussion. Can you think of other dilemmas, large or small you resolved the same way? Whatever category you choose to describe yourself, do you know why you believe this? Did you know this about yourself before beginning this assignment?
Remember, this is a debate within yourself, not a debate between you and a parent, your friend, or someone else.
To Summarize, your paper should be a single cohesive essay in which you:
—Make sure you have a clear thesis statement in your first paragraph.
—Select an important decision that you made and give a description of the options you were considering.
—Select ONE of the arguments described in the Three Debates in Chapter 1 of your text and describe why one of the debates reflects your own dilemma. Explain exactly how your final decision indicates that you fall into one of the six theoretical categories described by Miller (cultural materialism, structuralism, interpretivism, etc.). Elaborate on this point to whatever degree you need to in order to explain, keeping in mind the paper’s length limits.
—Using the questions in the third paragraph of these instructions as a starting point, explain what this decision tells you about your “basic self,” the part of you that believes a certain thing or idea consciously or unconsciously directs human decision-making, including your own. The best essays will include insights or questions that go beyond what the questions in the third paragraph address.
—Discuss how this belief manifests in other areas of your life. Develop this answer.
Some Points to Keep in Mind: Again, make certain that at the outset of the paper you have a clear thesis statement that lets the reader know what issue your paper is addressing. Also as you develop your point, make sure you clearly explain the evidence from your own life so as to back up how you classify yourself. Describe specifics and do so in sufficient detail and with sufficient explanation to make your conclusion appear reasonable to the reader. It is your job as the writer to convince the reader that you are what you say you are. Do not deliver a conclusion without explaining your reasoning. You may decide that your decision was influenced by several theoretical viewpoints, not just one, but here you want to choose the most powerful single perspective as a force in your life and focus your essay on that.
