Answers:

1. What does Seamus Heaney mean by the marvelous and the murderous? How do the two concepts
reflect reality?
According to Heaney reality consists of both, the Marvelous and the Murderous, and if we forget either
we don't have an accurate view of the world. The Murderous is represented in our indifference to other's
needs. It is easy to say how this world is Murderous in all aspects. As Heaney says: "I make an act of faith
in the marvelous" and without that act no change will occur, and we all will live in despair. There is
wrongness all around us and it is part of human nature (it is down to us what we choose) but the marvelous
is consciously chosen according to our values. A choice of hope over despair.
[Heaney is contrasting 2 things the shaking of a hand to machine guns hope vs destruction].
2. How do the great stories of our cultures both bring us together and draw us apart?
Our stories bring us together because they are answers to fundamental human questions but they also
tears us apart due to differences in culture. Therefore, we answer them differently.
[Supporting with a story of Heaney's].
It is the answers, the historical background, the cultural/communal context that differs and draws us apart.
We share a common human nature. Our stories articulate who we are and as humans we share the same
human basic questions:
- How do we live in our society?
- Are we free?
- What it the right way to carry out intimate relationships (parents, friends)?
- What it the meaning of death and life in the context of death?
3. What does Athol Fugard mean when he says, "that there is an area in my life in which I am nobody's
victim but my own"?
Act and choice. Heaney says that one can respond freely to the situation he finds himself in. one chooses
to respond freely. Sometime action can follow that response and sometimes cannot because liberty is
restricted.
Eventually, it all comes down to individual choices. Soul is the capacity of every person to transcend (to go
beyond) the material facts of the human conditions. It depends on which choices people make due
to/despite of social circumstances that might affect their choices and decisions. It is the choices that make
up a man. Every person needs the good society.
4. What "arena" does Athol Fugard say is "central to history"? What does he mean when he says it? What
is the basis for him saying it?
Fugard says that the daily individual actions and interactions between two or more people is the arena
that is essential to history. Action on the individual level has ultimately driven widespread/large scale
change. Fugard says this because he believes that to be true.
5. What is the difference between freedom and liberty? Give an example to illustrate your answer
Freedom: the ability to respond to a situation according to one's own wishes even if only limited to
response as a mere thought.
Liberty: derives out of Freedom and that is the ability to express oneself verbally and/or physically without
limitations/restrictions. Our liberty can be only limited by others.

Give examples: 1) Concentration camps - Victor Franklin (read about);

2) The traffic light one have the freedom to cross the road while the light is red, but not the
liberty to do so. For others and your own safety.
3) Brave heart/William Wallace no liberty to escape jail or torture, no liberty for his Scottish
kens, yet he has the freedom to refuse or confess in his final moments and shout "freedom!".
6. What does Thomas Jefferson mean by free and firm? What tension(s) in your society might the term
refer to?
Jefferson states that one has to be firm in order to unite the nation (reduction of liberties) but at the same
time, the government should not take an amount of power that will limit the freedom of its society.
Bringing society together but at the same time honoring the differences. There will always be tension, as
there are competing claims between liberty, stability and order.
Example the three religions in the US and the government influence on them (religious vs democracy).
7. What is conscience? How does a person develop a conscience?
Conscience is a conviction or a set of convictions that a man or woman chooses to live by after a process
of questioning, dialogue and reflection have been carried out. The convictions are subject to change as a
result of further questioning, dialogue and reflection. We reflect on our experiences and form our own
convictions. Having a conscience is the fundamental meaning of being FREE.
8. What is dialogue?
(a) Dialogue is a process through which two (or more) persons attempt to explain what they believe and
why they believe it. Genuine dialogue requires openness and compassion on the part of the
participants. Its goal is shared understanding.
(b) Dialogue is the process by which a person considers, questions, and reflects on the values, beliefs, and
practices of his or her culture in an attempt discover the convictions by which he or she will live his
life, the convictions which will shape and guide subsequent judgement.
9. Upon what basis (or bases) might a person decide that a law (enacted according to the legal
procedures or governance) is unjust? Is it possible to "prove" a law is unjust?
We make our choices and acts based on what we believe. Those beliefs are based on: the law of god +
human nature + human dignity. The set of human rights cannot be proved, it is something we believe in
and it varies with culture.
10. What does Henry David Thoreau mean when he says "a corporation has no conscience; but a
corporation of conscientious men is a corporation with a conscience"?
Thoreau "It has been truly said, that a corporation has no conscience; but a corporation of conscientious
men is a corporation with a conscience".
Havel you can have the best political system in the world, but if people do not follow the legal system in
a just way, you have nothing.
Institutions are made up of people with different ideas and goals. Hence, the challenge is to work together
towards the same direction.

11. What three elements does Justice Brennan say are involved in the interpretation of the Constitution?
Which of the three does he believe is the most important? Why did we discuss Constitutional
interpretation in class?
The human dignity is most important, as the constitution is based on the commitment of human dignity.
Constitutions based on conceptions of human dignity, people should be free to do whatever they want.
Brennen: "we look to time of the framing.in this particular situation" when this case comes before us
what those words mean? We want to see what the founders meant but we don't see anything there, so
the most important question is what do the words mean in our time (framing)? They mean that people
should be free to marry who they wish to marry, no matter what sex or gender. Words are always
ambiguous and complex therefore we depend on liberation through dialogue. "What is cruel?" Words
always need interpretation on. What do the words mean in our own time, and more importantly in the
context of human dignity (which evolves over time) that is the question the author asks, and that is the
most important question.
12. How (according to Justice Brennan) does the citizen's involvement in political discussion contribute to
his or her own intellectual and spiritual development?
According to justice Brennen, we can express our own opinion despite the fact how different our opinion
is from others. That allows us to follow our own thoughts and be independent. However, by expressing
our own opinion we also take responsibility of our actions and opinions. We all have human dignity and
we can make our own choices. With our involvement in a political discussion (both exterior and interior
dialogue) we become more responsible, our conscience grows, and in the end if we help the society to
become better there comes self-satisfaction. The most important is that through the political arena we
also develop other conscience judgments (learn how to respect others and how to make compromises).