At the time of year when American high school seniors are finished with school, having spent the last two months with severe attacks of senioritis, French students are buckling down to the dreaded Bac exams, which this year begin on Monday 18th June. Traditionally, the exams begin with Philosophy, which every French student is expected to study. The kids have to choose among three questions, and they have four hours to write.
Last year the questions in various series (for students studying different Bacs) included:
--Is Man condemned to have illusions about himself? [In France, "Man" "he" and "him" are still used to mean "Human"-- which seems old-fashioned to me....]
--Does feeling an injustice teach me what is just?
--Does culture take away from Man's nature?
--Is Art less necessary than Science?
--Explain an extract from Pascal's Pensées.
