Philosophy Essay

PHIL 1301: Introduction to Philosophy Instructor: Britt Michelsen

COURSE ESSAY GUIDELINES

Writing For A Philosophy Course

Most of you have never written anything for a philosophy course before, and may be quaking in your boots. Not to worry. It’s true that philosophical reasoning is an acquired skill, but that’s what this course is for. You have probably written any number of position papers, so you have the basic premise down cold. What you will do in this course is to refine your ability to clarify the argument you are making to ensure that it is a valid one, and expand your willingness to go where the argument takes you, regardless of your initial position. If we are honest thinkers, we need to be willing to entertain the idea that our preferred position on an issue might be only partly right, or even completely wrong. That’s intellectual integrity. Philosophical discussion is intended to improve the argument by poking holes in it.

The benefit of learning how to reason clearly and dispassionately, identifying objections and hidden assumptions while striving for the best understanding of a problem, is that it will give you the skills you need to navigate a world in which any number of people want to sell you any number of bogus ideas. This is an eminently portable skill, which you can use in any career, not to mention in other areas of life.

Writing In Philosophy

Writing in philosophy is unlike writing in other areas because it is all about the validity of the argument in the search for deeper understanding of the question or problem posed. Writing in the humanities places great emphasis on self-expression, rhetorical flourish and dramatic effect. Writing in the sciences is more narrowly focused on experimental evidence and the findings of experiments. When writing in philosophy, you focus on the structure and explanation of an argument. In general, philosophical writing is a reasoned defense of a thesis, of a specific point you want to persuade your reader is true, based on the reasoning you present for open discussion.

Yes, you want to be eloquently persuasive, but not at the expense of the argument. It is easy to use the power of language to persuade others of a position that has no solid foundation in reason—that’s what underpins marketing and advertising.

Yes, you want to defend a position, but you need to explore it objectively and impersonally. Present arguments against your position that are just as solid as those that support it. We all too often passionately believe in something without ever having explored the possibility that it might be wrong— that’s when we dig in our heels and start quarreling rather than constructively arguing (making a case).

As you will see from reading philosophers, the structure of their arguments is not always clearly laid out. Sometimes you will need to work hard to identify the conclusion the philosopher is drawing and the claims s/he is using to justify that conclusion. You will need to analyze and reflect on arguments, take note of what’s missing, identify hidden assumptions, reintegrate the pieces, and ultimately synthesize a new understanding—one that is uniquely yours because of what you bring to the analysis.

For the purpose of the essay for this course, you are likely to be successful if you lay out your argument very clearly. It doesn’t have to be in a premise/premise/conclusion format, but it’s always helpful to ensure that you can “see” the argument using that layout.

The skill of being able to carefully construct and dispassionately defend a solid argument will carry over to all the written work you do for other courses, and it will serve you well in the rest of your life too. You will become more internally aware of your own thought processes, and you will be able to identify the strengths and weaknesses of your own ideas as well as those of others.

Be open to the idea of changing your mind on your original position on your thesis. After close analysis, you may find some hidden assumptions in your own thinking. Critical thinkers follow the evidence (and arguments) wherever they go; any preconceptions should be identified, analyzed and either dismissed or included if doing so advances the investigation. Go where the analysis takes you!

PHIL 1301: Introduction to Philosophy Instructor: Britt Michelsen

Line Up Your Resources

BEST START: Watch the videos on “How to Write a Philosophy Essay” at the link provided in the course, as well as here: https://libguides.lvc.edu/c.php?g=333806&p=2245828.

 Each short video focuses on one aspect: starting from “Begin” and going on to formulating a thesis, constructing an argument, structure and outline, grammar and style, citations and more.

Appendix B in your textbook: “How to Write a Philosophy Paper.” It provides you with a good basic outline of what you need to do and steps to take to do it.

 A basic structure for your essay

 Step by step process for writing the essay

 A sample philosophy paper

LSCS Library Philosophy Research Guide, at http://mavericksresearch.lonestar.edu/philosophy. Here you will find library resources focused specifically on philosophy.

Supplemental Writing Resources at http://mavericksresearch.lonestar.edu/si, where you will find information on such topics as writing a thesis statement and narrowing your topic, as well as links to more resources, including The Write Place, where you can get one-on-one help at any stage of your project.

Choose Your Topic

Your first step is to choose a topic area, which will be the general subject of your essay. The topic is to be distinguished from the thesis, which is a narrower question within your topic area. It is always easier to write a good essay if you are writing about a topic that interests you personally, which is why I am leaving the choice of a topic to you. Try exploring the questions in the various insets:

 Writing to Understand: Critiquing Philosophical Views

 Writing to Understand: Arguing Your Own Views

 What Do You Believe?

 Philosophy Now

Or you could also use a Probing Question for one of the fictional pieces at the end of each chapter.

Or you could focus on a specific theory or philosopher in one of the chapters. As we move through the course, you will find some branches of philosophy resonate with you more than others. Reflect on their theories and come up with your own questions. Some examples for topic areas off the top of my head:

Narrow It Down To A Thesis

Writing a good thesis statement is actually pretty challenging. The clearer your thesis statement, the easier it will be to organize your thoughts and mount a good argument. Strive to arrive at a single short sentence that states precisely what it is you are trying to prove. It should clearly stake out a position, it should be of interest to you, and it should ideally be perhaps a bit provocative, to encourage your reader to engage with you.

Your thesis should be a clear and definite assertion about some aspect of your topic. For instance if your topic is the morality of abortion, you might take any number of positions, such as:

 Abortion is morally wrong under all circumstances.

 A woman has an absolute right to decide whether to have an abortion.

 Abortion is morally right only to save the life of the mother.

Notice that each of these statements stakes out a clear position, which you will set about defending. What would NOT be a thesis would be something like “the pros and cons of abortion,” or “a demographic analysis of women who undergo an abortion.” These would be fine essays, but for other courses.

PHIL 1301: Introduction to Philosophy Instructor: Britt Michelsen

Choose a thesis that interests you, but don’t adopt a position from which you will not budge. You should be objective about where your analysis takes you. If you do this exercise properly, you will explore objections to your thesis as fairly as you explore your thesis. Keep an open mind. You may find yourself modifying your thesis as you identify objections to your argument.

Be especially careful to avoid simple statements of your beliefs or feelings. In philosophy, it is not enough to simply believe or feel something; you must mount an argument and make your case. While everyone is entitled to their beliefs, a belief system is not necessarily a philosophy.

Also watch out for rhetorical questions, like “What would happen if every woman could have an abortion on demand?” That’s not an argument, though you could turn it into one, for instance as follows:

 It is wrong to cause the loss of millions of lives.

 If every woman who wanted an abortion got one, millions of lives would be lost.

 Therefore, it would be wrong for every woman who wants one to get an abortion.

The conclusion would be your thesis, i.e. what you want to defend. Then you would need to demonstrate the truth value of both premises in order to make the case as stated in your conclusion.

NOTE: It’s better to focus on making a small point very clearly than making sweepingly indefensible statements. Be as precise as possible in formulating your thesis, and make sure to define all key terms as you write. Feel free to revise your thesis as you progress through the writing, to clarify it.

Choose Your Approach

Two classical approaches are (a) evaluative, in which you defend a thesis, or (b) expository, in which you explain a theory or a philosopher, sometimes in historical context. Since the evaluative approach is probably the least familiar to you, most of this document is dedicated to explaining it. Students are usually familiar with the expository format, and only need to learn how to apply it in philosophy.

1. Argumentative / Evaluative: here you will need to both explain and evaluate a philosophical argument. This approach is similar a “position paper,” but the difference is that here you will need to primarily focus on the strengths and weaknesses of a philosophical argument. This is the approach used by philosophers when doing philosophy.

2. Expository / Explanatory: here you will only need to explain a philosophical argument. You will still need to present the argument and reason carefully as you explain it, but you will not be as focused on defending a position relative to the argument. Historians of philosophy use this approach. Examples might include:

 Explanation of a theory of a particular philosopher, such as what Kant meant by “will”

 Comparing two or more philosophers on a common theory (for instance Kant and Schopenhauer on the nature of “will”)

 Tracing the history of a philosophical problem over time (such as the concept of free will)

Template for an Argumentative / Evaluative Essay

About 100

words

Introduction Provide your reader with a very brief introduction to the topic of your essay and the specific problem you plan to address

Provide a clear thesis statement

Lay out a brief outline (roadmap) of how you plan to proceed; be straightforward: for instance, “first I will ____, then I will ____, then I will, then I will ___…)

NOTE: Sometimes it’s easier to write the introduction after you have completed the thought process expressed in the essay

PHIL 1301: Introduction to Philosophy Instructor: Britt Michelsen

About 300

words

Explanation and

presentation of the argument

you will be addressing

May be more than one

paragraph

Provide a more expansive description of the topic area and the specific argument or debate you will be addressing

RE: the topic: whether you are writing about skepticism or happiness, you might explain why your topic is a problem in philosophy

RE: the specific argument: stick to the aspects of the topic that pertain to the point you want to make; for instance you might mention that Aquinas has a number of arguments for the existence of God, but only flesh out the argument you will be addressing

Be as fair and even-handed as you can be, but don’t hesitate to identify areas that are unclear or murky

About 300

words

Your argument

May be more than one

paragraph

You can either defend or critique the argument

If you are defending the argument, provide your own supporting arguments, or perhaps a thought experiment that illustrates your reasoning

If you are critiquing the argument, explain why you think one or more of the premises of the original argument is incorrect, or you could identify hidden assumptions in the original argument; your goal here is to demonstrate why the original argument is wrong

Feel free to include thought experiments to illustrate your point

When evaluating arguments, use the terms “valid,” “sound,” cogent” and “strong,” and watch out for fallacies in the reasoning

About 200

words

Possible objections to

your argument

Your response to the objection

Step outside your own position and explore ways others might disagree with your argument

Give this serious thought; come up with the best objection to your own argument you can come up with

Then explain to your reader how your own argument can withstand the objection; you could even explain how coming up with the objection caused you to modify your own position a bit

Between 100 and

200 words

Conclusion / summary

Bring your reader back to the point you originally wanted to make, as expressed in the introduction, and how you made that point

Sometimes it can be helpful to remind your reader of the scope of your original project, by pointing out what you did not address, but which could be the subject of another essay

Adapted from Tackling the Philosophy Essay, A Student Guide, Edition One, by Clair Benn, Christina Cameron,

Amanda Cawston, and Shayne Siriwardena; at https://www.phil.cam.ac.uk/curr-students/II/curr-students/writing- skils/

Template for an Expository / Explanatory Essay

About 100

words

Introduction Provide your reader with a very brief introduction to the topic of your essay and the specific philosopher and theory you plan to address

Provide a clear thesis statement—your reason for writing the essay

NOTE: Sometimes it’s easier to write the introduction after you have completed the thought process expressed in the essay

PHIL 1301: Introduction to Philosophy Instructor: Britt Michelsen

About 300

words

Place your philosopher

and theory in context

May be more than one

paragraph

Provide a more expansive description of the specific philosopher and theory you will be addressing

Place the philosopher in a time and place in history and explaining his/her importance in philosophy (Hobbes is just an example)

• Who was Thomas Hobbes? What did he accomplish?

Then explain the philosophical problem the philosopher addresses in one of his/her theories

• The problem of social order in the face of social breakdown

About 300

words

Explain the theory

May be more than one

paragraph

Provide a clear explanation of the theory

• Hobbes’ version of “state of nature” and the “social contract”

Be thorough and fair; present the theory in the best possible light—do not critique the argument, though you can point out ambiguities

Your goal is simply to explain Hobbes’ theory in your own words; keep any quotations short, and explain them when you use them

About 200

words

Known objections to

the theory

Briefly explore known objections to Hobbes’ theory, though you do not need to develop them in as much detail as that of Hobbes

About 100

words

Conclusion / summary

Bring your reader back to the point you originally wanted to make, as expressed in the introduction, and how you made that point

Pointers for Developing Your Argument and Writing the Essay

When constructing your argument, you are quite likely to be absolutely persuaded that your position is correct. To you, it may seem self-evident. This is when you need to get creative. Really think through how someone who opposes the position you are arguing for might respond. It can help to discuss your position with other people, and to really listen to what they say, to the points they raise. Later, on paper, do your best to articulate an argument in response. You may find that you need to make some adjustments to your own argument.

It also doesn’t make your essay stronger if you throw in every argument for or objection to your position that you come across. Pick the best arguments and objections and address them thoroughly.

Be sure to define your terms. Don’t use standard dictionaries. Terms in philosophy have specific philosophical definitions, sometimes by branch. For instance “libertarianism” pops up in discussions of free will and in political philosophy, with very different meanings. Some terms are used in other disciplines as well, such as “functionalism,” which appears in the social sciences as well as philosophy. And be sure not to use words whose meaning you are not sure of just because you think they sound intelligent. They only sound intelligent if they are used properly.

CLARITY MATTERS: Edit carefully for excess verbiage (try removing words from each sentence until the sentence no longer holds together). Aim for a straightforward, strong sentence structure.

PARAGRAPHING MATTERS: Identify the purpose of each paragraph and make sure each sentence in it pulls its weight; if not, move it somewhere else or delete it.

EDITING MATTERS: Double and triple-check for problems with spelling and grammar; what you submit is a reflection on you, so make sure it puts you in your best light.

READING IT OUT LOUD HELPS A LOT: You catch silly sentence structure and grammatical mistakes and find ways to improve “flow” from one paragraph to the next.

PHIL 1301: Introduction to Philosophy Instructor: Britt Michelsen

MECHANICS: Packaging and Presentation MATTER

Use MLA formatting guidelines. Proper formatting focuses attention on your content. For more information, go to the Montgomery College Writing Center http://mavericksresearch.lonestar.edu/citations, or go to https://style.mla.org/formatting-papers/ or https://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/675/1/

 TOTAL PAGES: Between 4 and 5 double-spaced pages o ~250 words per page, so 1,000 to 1,250 words

 Any “works cited” or title page will not be counted in the total.

 PLEASE DO NOT use a title page, it’s hard to work with online.

BASICS (10 points)

MARGINS: 1 inch 1 point

FONT: nothing larger than 12 point 1 point

Per my request: DOES NOT HAVE A TITLE PAGE 1 point

IDENTIFICATION (top left hand corner of first page ONLY)

 Your name 1 point

 Course and section 1 point

 My name (properly spelled, it’s only polite) 1 point

 Date 1 point

TITLE (centered) 1 point

PARAGRAPHING (first line indentation) 1 point

WORKS CITED or REFERENCE PAGE 1 point

https://style.mla. org/formatting- papers/

https://style.mla. org/formatting- papers/

PHIL 1301: Introduction to Philosophy Instructor: Britt Michelsen

PLAGIARISM: More To It Than You Think!

Plagiarism can be unintentional:

 Are These My Own Words? https://llc.wrdsb.ca/learning/research-process/academic- honestyplagiarism/are-these-my-own-words/

Many students have never heard of “mosaic plagiarism” or “patchwriting,” which is what you are doing when you copy/paste something from somewhere else and then change a few words here and there. Study the examples provided here:

 Patchwriting: https://www.poynter.org/reporting-editing/2012/patchwriting-is-more-common-than- plagiarism-just-as-dishonest/

 Patchwriting: https://awelu.srv.lu.se/academic-integrity/plagiarism/different-kinds-of- plagiarism/patchwriting/

 Mosaic plagiarism: https://www.bowdoin.edu/studentaffairs/academic- honesty/examples/mosaic/index.shtml

 Example of mosaic plagiarism: https://qcpages.qc.cuny.edu/~redwards/Plagiarism/09.html

It is even possible to plagiarize yourself:

 What Is Self-Plagiarism and How to Avoid It http://www.ithenticate.com/plagiarism-detection- blog/bid/65061/What-Is-Self-Plagiarism-and-How-to-Avoid-It#.WxGrCUiUuUk

Give Credit Where It Is Due—And Properly Formatted

 What Is Citation? http://www.plagiarism.org/article/what-is-citation

 What Must I Cite? https://llc.wrdsb.ca/learning/research-process/academic- honestyplagiarism/what-must-i-cite/

 MLA Formatting and Style Guide https://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/747/1/

o NOTE: Different disciplines use different standards: sciences use APA, history uses Chicago, and there are still others, more specialized; humanities commonly use MLA

BEST PRACTICE: learn how to paraphrase effectively and to make a habit of it:

 Paraphrase: Write It in Your Own Words https://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/619/1/

EVALUATION

The rubric is general, in order to accommodate both styles of essay, but in either case I will be looking for clear evidence that:

 you have accurately captured the essence of a theory or philosopher, or have constructed a sound and convincing argument to support your position, having considered the objections fairly

 your thesis statement is clearly stated and well supported by your argument

 you have taken time to clean up grammatical and sentence structure mistakes

 your essay is properly formatted and any references are properly cited

BEST PRACTICE: leave yourself time to write several drafts before you arrive at a polished essay that you are proud to submit

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