Essay Assignment
For this assignment, you will choose one of the three topics below (scroll all the way down to see the list of topics; they are given after the general instructions/information and are listed as ‘topic #1, topic #2, topic #3') and write an essay of at least 4 pages, double-spaced, in Times New Roman 12 point font; your paper should be written in Standard English and done in MLA format.
To submit your paper, click on ‘Essay 1.' You should attach a file that can be opened with Microsoft Word (doc or docx); do not submit a pdf or type in the submission box.
The purpose of the essay, regardless of the topic you choose below, is to analyze a philosophical question. Though there are hundreds (at least!) of philosophical questions, here are a few examples (Please note! These are simply examples of philosophical questions, NOT the topics for the essay; topics are below all of the instructions.):
• Who "owns" human life? For example, does anyone have the right to take an individual's life? The state? The individual?
• Does free will really exist? (And, if there is no free will, are people ever "responsible" for their acts? should we ever punish people?)
• What is the difference between living and being alive?
• How do you know your perceptions are real?
• If God exists, why is there so much evil in the world?
• What is a person? Is it the mind, or the body?
Regardless of the topic you choose, your essay must include the following:
• An original title (hint: ‘Essay 1' is not an original title; nor is the title of the article you choose to write on)
• An introduction with a thesis statement; if you need help with writing a thesis statement, read this advice on developing a thesis. Since the main idea of your essay is an analysis of a philosophical question, your thesis should most likely express this specifically (e.g. state the philosophical question your essay will be analyzing).
• A paragraph (most likely the second paragraph of your essay, following the introduction) that summarizes the article related to the topic you chose below; your summary should be written such that the reader of your essay has a general understanding of the article you are summarizing; give an overview of the main ideas (and argument if there is one). Read this helpful advice on how to correctly summarize a text.
• A discussion/explanation of a philosophical question that relates to the article you chose; you must explicitly discuss the philosophical question your essay is exploring; this means you should state what the question is, explain the significance of the question [i.e. why is this a question of concern in philosophy?], and perhaps explain various ways others have answered this question.
• Research (incorporated through quotation, paraphrase, or both) from at least 2 scholarly/professional sources not including the article; all research must be cited according to MLA. Your sources MUST be from journals found in the DCCCD Library databases; Internet/other sources will not count. You should begin by searching the databases that contain philosophy journals/sources. If you need help using the databases, you can get help in person in the library or online using the ‘Ask a Librarian' tool. When incorporating sources into your work, they must be present so as to serve your position/argument/discussion. In other words, they should not be there just to be there; they should be incorporated AS part of the discussion/argument, in a meaningful, substantial way. Because this is a philosophy paper, appropriate sources are those written by other philosophers and directly related to philosophy.
• Your own response, including explanation and reasons, to the philosophical question/problem your paper addresses
NB: Many people make the mistake of trying to argue for one side or another in their essay. For example, if your essay is analyzing the question of whether humans have free will, your essay should NOT take a position on this question (this topic has been debated for thousands of years, and in its current form, unless you are a neuroscientist or physicist, you are most likely not qualified to tackle this question); rather, your essay should explain WHAT the debate is with regard to this question, what the various arguments are with regard to this question. Of course, feel free to share your view, but doing so is not the focus of your essay. An effective way to do this is not just ‘I support x' or ‘I don't support x' but something along the lines of ‘the view presented by (whomever, John Stuart Mill, Kant, Hume, Peter Singer, Ayn Rand, whatever you have discussed already) is more reasonable/valid/convincing because blah blah blah.' This IS a stance, but it shows a thorough, intellectual understanding of a position, an evaluation of an argument.
Any instance of plagiarism will be punished by a minimum of an F on the assignment and a report to the associate dean of the humanities division. Further punishment could include failure in the course, suspension, or expulsion.
The articles below are all from The New York Times. Non-subscribers are limited to the number of articles they can read, but the Richland Library has full access to The New York Times. You can access The New York Times via this DCCCD Library web page.
Topic #1: "Sam Harris' Vanishing Self"
This article deals with consciousness, spirituality, and the problem of self-hood. It could also be connected to how we think of AI (as being selves or persons).
Topic #2: "The Question We Must Keep Asking"
This article deals with issues related to personal identity/what it means to be human.
The Question We Must Keep Asking- We can only define ourselves by continually re-evaluating our humanness. By Ai Weiwei.
Topic #3: "We Are Merging with Robots. That's a Good Thing."
This article deals with issues related to personal identity/what it means to be human in relation to AI.
Format your assignment according to the following formatting requirements:
1. The answer should be typed, double spaced, using Times New Roman font (size 12), with one-inch margins on all sides.
2. The response also include a cover page containing the title of the assignment, the student's name, the course title, and the date. The cover page is not included in the required page length.
3. Also Include a reference page. The Citations and references should follow APA format. The reference page is not included in the required page length.