Renaissance, Reformation, Early Modern Europe

Related book:
1. Michel de Montaigne, The Essays: A Selection
    To the reader, On solitude (I.39), On three kinds of social intercourse (III.3)
    On the resemblance of children to their fathers (II.37), On repenting (III.2), On the Cannibals (I.31)
    That it is madness to judge€¦ (I.27), On cruelty (II.11), On the lame (III.11)

2. René Descartes, Discourse on the Method, Pt III-IV (9/5 Version)

3. Blaise Pascal, Pensées and Other Writings

4. William Shakespeare, The Tempest

Requirement: The essay should be a minimum of 5 full    pages in length (no more than 7)    in the Humanities format* and a counterargument is required. Reminder: Do not use outside sources in a Humanities  essay. The argument should be your own and the only material used should be the assigned  readings.

Respond to one of the following prompts:
1. Montaigne suggests that barbarous    is only what we    are not    accustomed to. How does Shakespeare’s    The Tempest reinforce and contradict Montaigne’s views on barbarism?
Note: In constructing Montaigne’s views, you must draw on more thanOn the    Cannibals.
2. What     knowledge can    we gain    from imagination and fantasy? Construct your  argument by comparing two of the following€”Montaigne, Descartes,    Pascal, and Shakespeare.
3.How does reason help     and hinder self-understanding?     Construct your    argument by comparing two of the following€”Montaigne, Descartes, and Pascal.
4. How and why do boredom and distraction lead to human unhappiness? Construct your argument by comparing Montaigne and Pascal.
5. What  are the conditions and    reasons    for Prospero’s transformation or lack thereof in The Tempest?  Construct your argument using the moral vision of one of the following€”Montaigne, Descartes, and Pascal.