Course Paper Guidelines

All course papers must be prepared in accordance with the History of Philosophy Style Guidelines available at

https://sites.ualberta.ca/~jhphil/JHP_Style_Sheet-Revised-FINAL.pdf

NO OTHER FORMAT WILL BE ACCEPTED.

For KUL students: consult Prof. Robiglio. KUL requirements are different from those for Marquette students.

For Marquette students:

This must be a professionally prepared course research paper of ca. 20-30 double-spaced pages not including bibliography.  This paper must WORD format.

Along with the submitted paper you must include a one-page outline placed at the beginning of the paper.

The paper with prefaced outline must be submitted to Turnitin.com no later than 5 pm 13 December 2018.

How to do argumentative philosophy papers

Link to PDF version: https://www.dropbox.com/s/6m3vknptfdiovl2/How%20to%20do%20argumentative%20papers%20copy.pdf?dl=0

How to Do PHILOSOPHY ESSAYS*

I. Introduction

Thomas Edison's much quoted remark that invention is l%

inspiration and 99% perspiration is perhaps a case of

self-effacing understatement. Nevertheless, his point, when

applied to the matter of writing philosophy essays, deserves

attention. No one can systematize or lay down rules that will

result in inspiration or creativity. This little guide,

however, is written with the conviction that a large share of

the burden of the composition of an essay is almost mechanical

and rules can be laid down such that, if they are followed, a

reasonably good result can be confidently predicted.

2. II.Groundwork
   

a. First Thoughts

Let us start with a couple of typical philosophy essay

topics: "Aristotle on Happiness" and "What is Justice in the Moral

Thought of Mill?"

l. BEGIN BY GETTING SOME DEFINITIONS, in this case,

definitions of "happiness" and "justice."

Start with a good dictionary.

2. WHAT ARE THE ETYMOLOGICAL derivations of key

philosophical terms? What are the root metaphors on the

basis of which the technical terms are constructed? What

do they have in common? What kind of things can be "put

together?" The point I am getting at is that you ought to

be trying to get at the conceptual presuppositions that

underlie any philosophical problem. These usually begin

in ordinary language.

3. Do the key concepts have a clear application to the

world? That is, is there any difficulty in deciding,

given the concept of happiness, about instances of

happiness? Is it clear to you what would count as an

instance of happiness or of justice in the context of morality?

What problems are raised by the application of these

concepts to the world?

4. Order the problems. This point is crucial. After

having discovered a nest of problems through your initial

groundwork you should now ask yourself, "which problems

require a solution before the other problems can be

solved? What is basic and what depends on the basic?"

For example, isn't it necessary to know first what Aristotle

understands to be the structure of the human soul before

we can consider what happiness in the soul is? Don’t we

have to understand which is the more comprehensive notion,

morality or justice, before we can say how they are related?

Remember: Some problems are more basic than others.

Order your questions. It will save a lot of time.

b. Research

In the case of our essays in this course, you need only

concentrate on the primary readings. You will be

looking for basically three things: (1) definitions, (2)

distinctions, and (3) arguments.

l. Definitions. How does your author define key

philosophical terms? If he offers no definitions in the

text you are using, does he presume certain definitions?

Write down the definitions which are explicit. Write out

definitions you think are implicit. Does the failure to

define terms leave his arguments ambiguous?

2. Distinctions. How does the author "cut up" the world

with his concepts? What are the different senses in

which he uses words. Many philosophical problems are

greatly aided in their solution by distinguishing senses

of words. To do this it will be useful to fill your head

with lots of examples and ask how the relevant word or

concept would cover these. Make a list of different uses

of a concept. How are these uses alike? How do they

differ?

3. Arguments. Your most important job is to

extract an argument from the text. All arguments have

premises and a conclusion. . The conclusion should be a

statement of the author's position. The premises contain

the statements of the evidence leading to these

conclusions. Extract these arguments. The backbone of

your essay will be the examination of these arguments.

You will be using two standards for examination: (a) Is

the argument valid, that is does the conclusion follow

logically from the premises (that is, assuming the

premises are true, does the conclusion then follow.) (b)

Are the premises true? Are they intended by the author

to be self-evidently true or does he adduce evidence for

them? Working from the basic argument you will begin to

hunt for hidden premises, alternative premises that would

make an invalid argument valid, etc. All the time your

eye will be on the conclusion and the question: "Is it

true?" Can he prove it? Can I prove it? Remember:

Philosophy is mainly concerned with arguments.

3. III.Preparation of Essay
   

a. The outline. Among the most common flaws in

undergraduate essays are lack of clarity in thought and

expression and lack of coherent organization. Student essays

tend to ramble and this indicates a mind at sea. It is

possible, however, to minimize these problems by employing a

purely mechanical device. Make an outline. Now I do not mean

an outline of the form: I. Introduction. II. Argument,

III. Conclusion. This is too superficial and consequently

worthless. An outline should be detailed and represent a

logical progression of thought. There should be a heading or

sub-heading for every paragraph in the essay. Nothing should

be put into the essay that has not been justified in your

mind beforehand and already represented in the outline.

Every paragraph in the essay should have a distinct place in

the exposition and/or criticism of the arguments. The

exposition should unfold premise by premise, the criticism

point by point.

b. The outline (Second Stage). The creation of the outline

should be guided by thought of what the topic requires, that

is, given the topic, what are the orderly steps to be taken

in dealing with it? In the second stage you will begin going

through the outline point by point and thinking about what to

say for each point. You will now discover a happy result.

Your essay will be about 75% finished! The actual writing of

the essay will be almost anti-climactic.

The main work of your essay--which is an exercise in

philosophical thinking and not the search for a stylish turn

of a phrase--is in your head and not on paper. The paper is

just a record of your real work. The creation of a tight,

critically justified outline will help eliminate the cotton

candy that many students use to pad their essays. It is not

necessary to begin with a paragraph on the greatness of your

subject or the world-moving importance of your problem. There

is no need to end with a stirring tribute to the glory of

philosophy and the meaning of life. These are superfluous.

You are writing an essay for someone who has heard these

platitudes a thousand times before. Their addition is

extremely irritating to most professors. Their absence is

bound to make a good impression. Start with your substantive

points. End your essay when these are completed.

Remember, don't try to do everything at once. Be

systematic. Take your points one at a time. And by all

means, do not worry about being too narrow. Your major worry

will almost always be about being too superficial.

4. IV.Writing the Essay.
   

a. If you have spent adequate time on the

outline, you should now be in a position to produce your essay.

Having thought out all the major points beforehand, you

can now give your complete attention to the

special problems of communicating these points. One overall

principle should guide you: clarity. Your writing should be

a window to your thinking. You will most likely be able to

achieve this if you stick to straightforward English prose.

Every sentence should express one clear thought. Grammar and

syntax count. Remember, there is nothing childish about a

short, clear, declarative sentence. It is a good sentence if

it clearly and accurately reflects your thought when read.

b. Hints on Composition

i. Define the key philosophical terms you introduce.

Obviously you cannot define everything. Nevertheless,

when you use a philosophical term in your argument you

should make the reader aware of the meaning.

ii. Purge your writing of all jargon. Jargon comes in

two varieties: the blatant and the subtle. They are

equally obnoxious. Some examples of the first variety

are: "interpersonal," "meaningful" and "relevant." Some

examples of the second are: "important," "in terms of,"

and "valid." The use of jargon words and phrases can

only be avoided by careful scrutiny of every sentence of

your essay.

iii. Use examples and counter-examples when possible. Nothing

conveys the thrust of an argument as well as a cleverly

chosen example. Examples illuminate principles.

Nothing conveys your argument against a position as well

as a devastating counter-example. Nothing supports an

argument an impressively as the anticipation of possible

counter-examples to the argument and the answers to

these.

iv. Remember that your reader is not inside your head.

Don't expect your reader to make the associations and

leaps that are not explicitly laid out in the paper but

which went on in your thinking. In philosophy it is

almost impossible for your reasoning to be too explicit.

Remember: Straightforward sentences.

Arguments. No padding.

*Adapted from “Some Hints For Composing Philosophy Essays” by L. P. Gerson