Write an essay (of roughly 2-3 pp. or 600-900 words) on a topic concerning one of the selections from Plato, Aristotle, or Walton. The point of this paper is to give you a chance to explore further an issue of interest to you and to provide a basis for me to evaluate both your understanding of the material we’ve read and the depth of your thinking about a philosophical issue.

Your essay should include the following elements:

Think of the first of these as an exposition of a short passage or of a few related brief passages. Each of the other two elements could also take the form of an exposition of something in your reading; but you are unlikely to find both of them there, so you should expect to add to what you have read. You may do this by speaking for yourself or by suggesting something that Plato, Aristotle, or Walton might say; but it is quite acceptable to present instead a view that is neither you own nor one of theirs.

The reading guides indicate some of the topics appearing in particular texts, but don’t feel limited to the topics noted there. To look for a topic, think back to ideas or issues that you found in the reading or that came up in discussion about the reading that were interesting and that you would like to think about further. Be careful to keep the topic you choose fairly narrow; this is a short paper and it will be easier to achieve the depth of thought and clarity of writing I will be looking for if you do not attempt to cover too much ground.

Be careful also not to attempt to give an exposition of an author’s views by paraphrasing or even summarizing parts of the text; instead think through what is said there and design an account of it to suit the topic you are addressing and the space you have available.

Although I’ll be happy to accept your essay on paper, I encourage you to submit it by e-mail (either as an attachment or, if there is no special formatting, in the body of a message). My address is helmang@wabash.edu.