Introduction to Philosophy (PHIL 10000)
Essay Instructions
A) Overview
You will be analyzing and exploring the implications of one of the four “Life Philosophies” we examined in module one (I say four because I’m counting the two types of hedonism as separate ones): i.e. either Cyrenaic Hedonism, Epicurean Hedonism, Stoicism, or Existentialism.
We want to make sure you work with the philosophies yourself rather than report on what others have said about them. As a result, the only sources you are allowed to use will be the relevant readings posted in the “Readings for Lectures” folder. Also, please note that you must cite only from there; citing lecture powerpoints or using other sources is not permitted.
B) Paragraph-by-Paragraph Instructions:
1) You must begin with an introductory paragraph. This must contain
three elements:
a) it must have a “hook” or some way to draw in the reader (e.g. “Existentialism is a philosophy that is eminently appropriate for today’s unhinged, ever-changing world.”)
b) it must contain a thesis statement
c) it must contain a “road map” of the paper, so that the reader has some idea of what to expect as they read on. This could be as simple as a sentence (or two) that covers something like: “This essay will begin by (put in appropriate things here)…go on to (put in appropriate things here)…and conclude by (etc., etc.)….”
2) Paragraph two must summarize the main points of the life
philosophy you’ve chosen to discuss. In this section, you
must make sure to also briefly discuss at least one
significant individual involved in its development (e.g. Marcus Aurelius
for Stoicism). This is the paragraph in which you’ll likely be doing the
most in-text citations, and they—again—will need to be citing the
relevant reading in the “Readings for Lectures” module. Since all those
readings come from the same Falikowski book (and the citation for that is
given in the Canvas page for each reading), it should be easy for you to
make sure to do this thoroughly.
3) As we move to paragraph three, you must begin to work with
the philosophy you’ve chosen to explore. You will consider here how this
viewpoint or approach to life might help or hinder the development of the
individual… and also, if widely adopted, society as a whole. Here, you
will probably be citing Falikowski much less, and perhaps not at all
(unless it’s needed) since the main focus will be developing your own
arguments about these two different points.
4) In paragraph four, you will bring another life philosophy into the
debate. You will anticipate a criticism of some element of the life
philosophy on which you’re focusing in this essay…an criticism that
would come from a follower of another of the life philosophies we’ve
studied. This shouldn’t be hard, since—although there are areas of
overlap, as we’ve noted—these life philosophies are quite different in
several important ways. For example…
If your essay is focusing on Cyrenaic Hedonism, you could imagine
(and describe, of course) a criticism that a Stoic might have to some
element of it. And then… and this is very important… you must go on to
try to answer or respond to this objection, from the point of view of a
follower of the philosophy that is the main focus of your essay. (So, to
continue the example used just above, you’d finish this paragraph by
imagining and articulating how a Cyrenaic Hedonist might answer their
Stoic critic.)
5) Your final, fifth, paragraph must be a conclusion, which recaps (i.e.
briefly re-states, in summary form) your main points, and which ties
together the main threads of what you’ve argued in the essay in some
way. In other words, it must sum up what you’ve done AND reach some
kind of conclusion about it.
C) Other Requirements
a) You must be attentive to grammar, spelling, punctuation, clarity, prose style, etc. One of the key ingredients of a good essay is good writing, and you will lose marks if you fall short in this regard.
b) You may use quotations from the posted Falikowski readings where appropriate, but your voice must be the dominant one in the essay, and especially in the second half. APA format is required for your in-text citations and your references page.
c) There is a word limit here. The paper must be in 12-point font and double-spaced, and each paragraph should take, on average, a bit more than half a page or so. That should mean that, even if each one is a bit longer than that, you shouldn’t need more than about three pages for the essay (not including the title page). If you do go onto page four, that’s OK, but you cannot go onto a fifth page. In terms of word count, the length for the paper should be minimum 700 words and maximum 900 words. If you fall outside these guidelines, on either end, there will be a deduction. Part of the assignment is keeping to the assigned length and doing the job well in that amount of space.