Relations in two paragraph
TEXTS

Your essay must cite and analyze passages from the following readings:

?Foer,Franklin.“MarkZuckerberg’sWaronFreeWill.”WorldWithoutMind:TheExistentialThreatofBig Tech. Penguin, 2017, pp. 102-115.

? Tolentino, Jia. “Always Be Optimizing.” Trick Mirror: Reflections on Self-Delusion, 2019, pp. 63-94.

PROMPT

Both Franklin Foer’s “Mark Zuckerberg’s War on Free Will” (2017) and Jia Tolentino’s “Always Be Optimizing” (2019) examine the ways in which humans are, consciously or unconsciously, giving up an important aspect of their autonomy. Foer’s nuanced condemnation of the “automation of reason,” (109) which he correlates with the ascendance of big tech, echoes Tolentino’s earlier reflection that “[t]echnology, in fact, has made us less than oppositional…we have deployed technology not only to meet the demands of the system but to actually expand these demands” (93). Together, these texts invite us to consider the role and value – and, indeed, even the viability – of individuality and human resistance to powerful economic and ideological systems in the modern age.

Citing textual evidence from both Foer and Tolentino’s texts to support your analysis, compose an original essay in response to the following question:

How and to what degree is the “engineering mind-set” creating “conditions of artificial but continually escalating obligation” to the demands of tech companies such as Facebook and other “paternalistic” corporations? (Foer 107; Tolentino 68; Foer 106). How does “mechanical thinking” pose a danger to human well-being, and why? (Foer 109).

THOUGHT-PROVOKERS

Below are some further questions that may be useful to consider in generating your argument. Remember that you only need to address the above prompt in bold:

?Whatisthe“engineeringmindset,”(Foer107)andwheredowefinditalsoimpliedinTolentino’s exploration of modern day life? How do the authors seem to be defining modern day life? Why is the engineering mindset problematic in terms of human freedom, human creativity, even human empathy?

? Foer discusses Facebook’s “strong, paternalistic view” (106). What is that view? How is this paternalism connected to the patriarchy that Tolentino writes about? What is the connection between the “engineering mindset” and paternalism?

? Foer’s last sentence—“We are the screws and rivets in the grand design” (114) echoes the problem Tolentino grapples with throughout “Always Be Optimizing.” What is Foer implying in these words? Both authors seem to suggest an alternative to the dehumanizing effects of modern day life. What are these alternatives, and why are they necessary?

FORMAT

You must proofread carefully.

Quotations should be carefully transcribed, punctuated, and attributed. Use MLA bibliographic conventions, and please follow the conventions of standard edited American English. Use 1.0-inch margins on all sides, double- spacing, and twelve-point Times New Roman font. Number all pages. Your paper should have a proper heading and must be submitted through Canvas as a Word document.