Writing Philosophy Papers:
1. The point of a paper is to state and defend some thesis. The thesis may be critical (Hume’s argument for… fails because … ), interpretive (when Kant says knowledge begins with experience but does not arise out of experience what he means is … ), or substantive (Morality is independent of religion). This is a special kind of expository writing. One kind of expository writing (text books, newspapers) is designed to convey information, and another is designed to prove a point. Philosophy papers of the first sort are generally not acceptable.
2. The thesis of the paper should be stated somewhere in the first paragraph of the essay. Your reader needs to know what you are arguing for.
3. Some attempt should be made, either at the beginning or the end of the paper, to say why the thesis is interesting or important.
4. It is often helpful to include a strategy paragraph before the actual argumentation begins, explaining how you plan to defend your thesis.
5. By making reference to the strategy paragraph, or to an outline, you should be able to point to any paragraph in the essay and say just what it is supposed to contribute to the defense of the thesis.
6. If you cannot defend your thesis adequately, perhaps a weaker version of your thesis can be defended. Then you can say what would need to be done in addition to what you have done to defend the stronger version.
7. A large part of the point of philosophical writing is to bring precision and clarity to abstract, vague, and slippery issues. If you sense your discussion becoming overly general or vague, you’re on the wrong track. Start over. It is better to oil one small wheel than to utter incantations over the whole machine.
Grading Criteria (in order of importance.)
1. Relevance. If you write something down, the assumption is that you think it is relevant. Papers containing material irrelevant to the thesis defended have poor prospects.
2. Coherence. This takes practice. A well-defended false thesis is better than an ill defended true thesis
3. Accuracy. Be careful not to misrepresent or grossly misinterpret the text (if there is one).
4. Originality. Originality is not essential. More important is how you put the ideas to use. If you use material (ideas, strategies, whatever) that is not your own, identify that source properly
Essay Topics For Philosophy:
Select topics from the list below. Consult with the instructor first if you wish to write on a different topic. Refer to the handout Writing Philosophy Papers for more specific instructions. Please be sure to document any sources that your discussion relies
on or refers to.
1. Using Plato’s Euthyphro as a starting point, discuss the relationship between morality and religion. Is morality created by divine command or do such commands conform to moral principles that are independent of God?
2. Explain the “religious epistemology problem” that Plato raises in the Euthyphro. How do contemporary religious believers defend their claims to know God’s moral will?
3. Discuss the Socratic Mission as described in Plato’s Apology. What are the main elements of Socrates’ ethical teachings? What role does religious belief and inspiration play in Socrates’ mission? What contemporary moralists remind you of Socrates?
4. Critically evaluate the arguments Socrates offers in the Apology to support the claim that it is irrational to fear death.
5. Select one or more traditional arguments for the existence of God (i.e., the cosmological or teleological argument) for critical evaluation.
6. Evaluate Blackburn’s critique of dualism in ch. 2 of Think.
7. What is the problem of evil? Evaluate one or more attempts to resolve this problem.
8. Explicate and evaluate William James’ defense of theism in The Will to Believe.
9. Pascal held that religious belief should be based on “inspiration” (i.e. religious experience) rather than logical arument. Explain and analyze his position.
10. Discuss the problem of free will and determinism. Which response to the problem seems most promising and why?
11. Analyze the skeptical arguments that Descartes presents in Meditation 1. What does Descartes think he has shown? What do you think Descartes has shown?
12. Evaluate Locke’s empiricist theory of the acquisition of knowledge.
13. Explain and evaluate Aristotle’s views on the acquisition of virtue and the nature of virtue as a mean between extremes.
14. Evaluate Kant’s categorical imperative by applying his theory to contemporary moral controversies.
15. Discuss the relative merits of Kantian ethics and utilitarianism by applying each theory to a contemporary moral controversy.
16. Evaluate Sartre’s argument for the claim that morality is subjective in Existentialism and Humanism.
17. Explain how Tolstoy’s character Ivan Ilyich exemplifies what later existentialists describe as the inauthentic life. How, according to Tolstoy, does Ilyich overcome his inauthenticity?
18. Explain how Camus’ character, Meursault, exemplifies Camus’ atheistic existentialist outlook. Critically evaluate Camus’ contention that “nothing matters.”