Essay Questions

Expound the predominant stylistic device in “Richard Powers on what is a firm”.

Richard Powers asserts, “‘To make a profit. To make a consistent profit. To make a profit in the long run. To make a living. To make things. To make things in the most economical way. To make the greatest number of things. To make things that last the longest. To make things for the longest possible time. To make things that people need. To make things that people desire. To make people desire things.” Sentences in Powers’ speech commence with ‘ to make’ (Parallelism.) Through the structuring, Powers accentuates the fundamental aspects and ends of a firm. The speech is musical due to the reiteration of the phrase. Moreover, Powers is convinced about what the firm ought to exhibit and ought to perform.

Explain the binary which governs “Durkheim against pragmatism”.

'Pragmatism versus Rationalism binary': “Our whole French culture is basically and essentially a rationalist one. The 18th century is a prolongation of Cartesianism. A total negation of rationalism would thus constitute a danger, for it would overthrow our whole national culture. If we had to accept the form of irrationalism represented by pragmatism, the whole French mind would have to be radically changed.” According to Durkheim, ‘Pragmatism and Rationalism’ are unqualified and mutually exclusive binaries. Rationalism profiles the all-inclusive French existence; hence, reproving it is tantamount to destabilizing French values. Unqualified Pragmatism ratifies absurdity which would not be material in the perpetuation of French culture.