A few weeks ago, the French 2019 high school exam essay questions brushed the circle of friends, people marveled at the difficulty of the question, but also became curious about the reading and writing of European students.
Philosophy Essay Questions (choose one of three)
Liberal Arts Candidate Questions
1. Is it possible to escape time?
2. What is the use of explaining a work of art?
3. Ponder and interpret an excerpt from the work of the German thinker and philosopher Hegel, Principles of the Philosophy of Law.
Questions for socio-economic candidates
1. Is ethics the best policy?
2. Does work divide humanity?
3. Consider and interpret an excerpt from the German philosopher Leibniz's book Commentary on Parts of Descartes' Principles.
Science candidate questions
1. Cultural diversity hinders human solidarity?
2. Is acknowledging an obligation a waiver of liberty?
3. Consider and interpret an excerpt from the Austrian philosopher Freud's book The Future of Illusions.
What is the use of philosophy? This week's film, Jean François and the Meaning of Life, may give an answer – philosophy can be turned into a practical tool for life.
Written and directed by Spanish director Selci Portella, in this film, the 12-year-old boy faces the lack of family education and school violence alone, unable to find the direction of life, he accidentally read Camus's famous book "The Myth of Sisyphus", disagreed with the views in the book, and further pursued the meaning of life. Driven by this impulse, he left home alone for Paris, hoping to discuss it face-to-face with Camus. After an absurd and stormy journey, he arrives at the Café des Floras by the Seine, only to be told that Camus had died sixty years earlier. But this journey taught the boy to face the absurdity of life and the confusion of growing up.
Jean François and the Meaning of Life (Spanish)
Writer/Director: Selch Portbera
Starring: Max Megias Claudia Bega
12-year-old Francisco Rubio is an introvert who is often bullied by his classmates at school, and the teacher's simple and rough solution makes him more isolated. His mother took good care of his life, but it was difficult to have the time and energy to take care of his spiritual needs. Faced with the psychiatrist arranged by his mother, Francisco was always listless and reticent.
On this day, the boy was chased by his classmates to escape to the women's restroom, holding his breath and waiting for them to leave, he looked up and found a book high on the partition. He picked up the book, and on the cover read: "The Myth of Sisyphus," Albert Camus, the handsome writer in the picture with his coat collar up, looking at the camera with a smirk.
Francisco opened the book and read it until he came home from school, immersed in Camus's world. After reading the last page, an excitement that had never been felt before filled his heart. Talking to the psychiatrist again, he asked the other person: "Do you know Camus?" ”
The psychiatrist replied with a look of surprise: "You know, I like existentialists." ”
"What is an existentialist?"
"If a person seeks the meaning of life, he is an existentialist. Just like Camus. ”
"Are you an existentialist?"
"Ah, why not? I used to live in Paris and often went to the Café des Floras, which existentialists love to go there. ”
The psychiatrist's words Francesco fell into deep thought. When he got home, he wrote a letter with his pen: "Dear Camus, I would like to discuss with you the Myth of Sisyphus, although your intention to write is bold, but the conclusion is wrong..."
A few days later, being bullied again by his classmates, Francisco made up his mind to leave the area. The next day, he got up on time as usual and stuffed his bag with a few changes of clothes and some food, and of course the Sisyphus Myth. After saying goodbye to his mother, he did not go to school, but went straight to the train station. However, because he was not old enough to travel alone, he could not buy a ticket and could only get on the bus in the crowd, but the ticket inspector who got on the bus halfway made him feel dangerous and had to get off early in a small town.
Francisco walked along the tracks, arriving at an abandoned station in the evening, where he lay down on a broken couch. In the middle of the night, he was suddenly woken up by a sixteen or seventeen-year-old girl standing in front of him. The girl said her name was Luna, and in the face of her questioning, Francisco said that her name was Jean François, and her parents died in a car accident and grew up in an orphanage. Hearing of his origins, the wary Luna seemed to have become more relaxed.
Early the next morning, Francisco begged Luna to buy her a ticket to Paris, "I'm going to see Camus." Luna suggested that she could borrow a car from a friend and take him to Paris.
The two embark on a journey to Paris, halfway through, when Luna suddenly proposes to go to a place called Moran, where she has friends who can borrow some money from him to replenish food. Francisco reluctantly agreed. But because he couldn't read the map, the two went in the wrong direction and had to spend the night in a strange French town.
The next day, they arrive in Moran, and Francisco discovers that the so-called friend Philip is actually Luna's old lover, and he suddenly feels very irritable when he looks at them inseparable. He drank cans of beer and made a mess of Philip's room by liquor, when suddenly a picture book of Camus on the shelves caught his attention. He flipped wildly, and the writer's birth and death years jumped into his field of vision, and he couldn't help but vomit.
Francisco and Luna are kicked out of the house by Philippe, and both begin to wonder if what the other says is true. Francisco had to tell the truth, he was not an orphan, but his father had long since died. At his insistence, Luna angrily started the car and headed for Paris.
Arriving in Paris, they inquired all the way along the Seine towards the Café des Floras. Seeing that the destination was close at hand, Francisco suddenly refused to continue forward, and Luna felt strange and dragged him inside. The café was full of people, talking softly. Luna plucked up the courage to ask the waiter, "Do you know Camus?" Will he come today? The waiter replied, surprised and politely: "Monsieur Camus used to come here often, but he died in 1960." ”
Luna was stunned, but she noticed that There was only a faint hint of frustration on Francisco's face, "Didn't you already know that?" The two children embarked on the way home in frustration, Luna complained that Francesco had never told the truth to himself, the two quarreled, Francesco gambled and got out of the car, but was hit by a passing car.
Receiving a call from the police, Luna's parents and Francisco's mother rushed to the scene, and they did not have the patience to listen to the children explain why they had come here, especially Francesco's mother, who was particularly emotional.
Back home, Francisco seemed to have shed his burden, and he felt that the journey was not a waste of time. What excites him even more is that he stumbles upon the secret of the book in the toilet, where a girl named Alina was placed. This time, she put down Kafka's Castle. Francisco picked up the book and read it happily. (Abbreviation/Ayao)
Original: Ah Yao Literary Journal