| Phi 346-02 Spring 2014 |
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Write an essay (of roughly 6-7 pp. or 1800-2100 words) on either (1) an issue or (2) an idea, where the issue or idea is relevant to topics discussed in this course.
(1) If you address an issue, you should
(i) explain the issue and
(ii) discuss a position concerning it, including in your discussion
(a) a rationale for holding the position,
(b) at least one objection to it, and
(c) an evaluation of the relative strength of the two sides.
The position you discuss may be one you hold, but it need not be.
(2) If you address an idea, you should
(i) introduce the idea and
(ii) outline two approaches to it, including
(a) the rationale for each approach,
(b) features distinguishing the two, and
(c) an evaluation of the relative strength of the two approaches.
In both option (1) and option (2), you should
(α) discuss in some detail a portion of a selection read in the course and
(β) make some reference to a second selection.
Your detailed discussion of a passage may serve you in any of several ways. It may, for example, help you to introduce the issue or idea you will address, or it may help you to present any of the elements of your discussion of a position on the issue or an approach to the idea. Your second reference can also serve in any of these ways, but it may be briefer (though it need not be), so it might be no more than a quotation (or paraphrase) of what seems to you a notable way of making some point or explaining some concept.
The focus of this paper is topical, on an issue or idea rather than on what someone you’ve read has said about one of these, so I will place somewhat greater emphasis than in the first on your own thinking. You should, therefore, choose a topic that allows you to bring in your thinking, but there are various ways that can happen. Of course, the simplest is to discuss an issue where the position you discuss, or the objection to it, represents your own thinking. But if you discuss an issue neither side of which represents your own views, your thinking will be brought in if you devote a substantial part of the paper to your evaluation of the two sides. And something analogous is true if you address an idea. Although one of the approaches may be your own, that need not be so; and, if it isn’t, you can bring in your own thinking through the evaluation of the two approaches. And, whether you discuss an issue or an idea, even an exposition of material you’ve read can display your thinking if the way you present this material is significantly different from what a reader might find in the source.
Let me also emphasize two things I consider in evaluating papers that are more likely to be relevant to this paper than to the last one. First, a variety of points—such as arguments for a claim or aspects of an idea—will count for less than a deeper consideration of a few or even just one. Also, be careful to give a fair and accurate account of any selection you consider even if it is opposed to a view you hold.
Although I’ll be willing to accept your essay on paper, I’d prefer that you submit it electronically. One way to do that is to send a copy by e-mail (either as an attachment or in the body of a message). My address is helmang@wabash.edu. (An alternative, if it is more convenient, is to upload the file to your group on the Canvas site for the course; but, if you do that, please send e-mail to alert me that it’s there.)