Essay+Topics+for+Perpetual+Peace

For this theme, you have a choice among the following essay topics:
 * Due date: Wednesday 8 October, via e-mail before lecture**
 * Discuss what makes perpetual peace possible, according to Kant, and noting both the strengths and weaknesses of his argument. Why does Kant insist that perpetual peace is possible? Would it matter for his argument if perpetual peace were found to be impossible? For a more detailed description of this topic, see here.
 * What are Hegel's objections to Kant's ideas about perpetual peace? What is the function of war in human history for Hegel? How might Kant reply to Hegel's objections, if at all? Who has the better argument? For a more detailed description of this topic, see here.
 * Does perpetual peace require a fundamental transformation in economic relations? Discuss Marx and Engels’s arguments in connection with Kant’s or Mill's arguments on the progressive improvement of humankind. For a more detailed description of this topic, see here.
 * Does it make sense to say that there is moral progress in history? Discuss the arguments on the progressive direction of history of at least two of the following philosophers: Kant, Hegel, Mill, and Marx. Identify the sense in which history is for them “progressive” and the mechanisms of such progress. Are these arguments plausible? What are some objections? For a more detailed description of this topic, see here.