Write an essay (of roughly 2-3 pp. or 600-900 words) focused on something you have read in Carnap, Stevens, or the quotations on the reading guides (the actual text of the reading guides does not count). 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. With this in mind I ask that your essay include the following elements:

Think of the first of these as an exposition of a short passage or of a few related brief passages by the writer you are focusing on. The objection could also take the form of an exposition of something in the same source, but you may not find an objection described there. You might construct the objection by speaking for yourself or by suggesting something that someone else you’ve read might agree with, but it is also quite acceptable to present instead a view that is neither your own nor in the reading so far. Your discussion of the relative strength of the two sides should be more than a few concluding comments. Although the amount of space needed for each of the three components of the paper will vary with your topic, think of each as equally important and, all things being equal, each deserving an equal share of the paper.

We’ve already covered too many issues for me to provide a full list of possible topics. The reading guides indicate some of the topics appearing in particular texts, but don’t feel limited to the topics noted there. You are likely to do your best work with a topic you find interesting, so thinking back through passages, issues, or ideas that caught you attention is probably the best way to look for a topic. You should feel free to pursue ideas that have come up in discussion whether or not you are the one who introduced them.

In choosing a topic, be careful to keep it 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 everything in a part of the text; instead think through what is said there, decide what is relevant to the topic your are addressing, and design an account of the passage in light of this and the space you have available. Although I’ll be happy to accept your essay on paper, I encourage you to submit it electronically. To do that, send a copy by e-mail (either as an attachment or, if there is no special formatting, in the body of a message) or use the drop box on the Blackboard site for the course.