Compose an 1100 – 1250 word (roughly 4 pages) analytical essay responding to one of the prompts below. The first thing you will want to do is devise a topic statement. This is a statement that responds directly to one of the prompts below which you develop in the paper. A good topic statement will be clear – a reader will have no difficulty understanding precisely what you mean , and it will not include ambiguity or vagueness (An example of a vague thesis: “Plato’s theory of art is interesting and persuasive.” This statement is vague – ‘interesting’ and ‘persuasive’ are too open-ended; readers have no specific information about what they mean. An example of a good topic sentence: “Plato’s theory of art connects beauty to moral goodness by the way in which both require an appreciation of unity”). A good topic statement will also be interesting – this means that it will try to say something interesting and insightful about the topic, and will not read as formulaic.  The remainder of the paper should explain, defend, and clarify your reading on the topic statement. Take special care to define all key terms. You should assume that your audience is someone who has a general interest in your topic but has not read these specific texts or authors. Take care also to consider conflicting interpretations and to defend your own. Source your reading in the text. Enable the reader to appreciate that you have considered and addressed all sides of the matter.

Most academic papers include two sections: a literature review, and  an argument. Think of this paper as a literature review only. A literature review is much more than a summary. A good literature review interprets the literature to articulate an underlying theme or method that unites several lines of research. An important point of the literature review is to assure readers that you–the author–have read the relevant research and know what you are talking about. Important is that you are not repeating or neglecting key arguments or interpretations that have already been made. The reader needs to know that they are not wasting their time reading your paper. Think of this paper as if you were composing the lit-review section of a paper on this topic. Our final paper will also include a component like this, but you will also be asked to develop your own original argument.

Include word count along with your name in the paper.

Detailed guidelines and rubric below.

QUESTIONS

1) In Apology, Socrates says that the ‘unexamined life is not worth living.’ Explain what he means by an analysis of at least two other dialogues (Crito, Meno, Phaedo).

2) Then if the truth about reality is always in our soul, the soul would be immortal…” (Meno, 86b). In other words, Plato argues that if we are born with any innate knowledge, the soul must be immortal. Reconstruct and explain Plato’s argument to this conclusion (you are not asked whether you agree with the argument or not).

3) Why does knowledge, according to Plato, necessarily require the Forms? Use arguments from the Phaedo and Meno to explain.

4) Compare and contrast Plato and Aristotle on the connection between knowledge and virtue.

5) Explain why, according to Aristotle, the only fully free and voluntary choice is a choice for the good (in other words, why, according to Aristotle, to choose at all is to choose the good).

GUIDELINES

NOTE: These are written with an argumentative paper in mind, but they can be easily adapted for an analytical paper.

The following is general advice not just for a philosophy paper, but for any academic paper:

In your thesis, have something to say. If you keep it too general the reader will not know what to make of it. For instance, if one writes that “Mill’s theory of justice is immoral” or “Rawls does not solve the problem of inequality,” the reader is left with no hint as to what one means by immoral or ‘problem of inequality’ – and therefore does not really know what you are saying. So be sure that your thesis is interesting and substantive, and that a reader, just by reading the thesis, has a good idea of the sort of argument you’ll be presenting. Your introduction should be short but effective. No extraneous stuff (for instance, do not include general statements like “Philosophers have discussed justice for two millennia”). Organize the paper in a logically coherent manner. Someone should be able to read your paper and then outline in less than a page your thesis and argument. Be sure to cite not only when you are quoting directly, but whenever you introduce any idea that is not your own. Finally, I think it is helpful, when you are finished with your paper (you’ll know you’re finished because you can do this), that you can  clearly and concisely fill in the blanks to the following four sentences:

1) They say_________________.

2) I say __________________, because ___________________.

3) One might object that ________________________.

4) But I reply that _______________________.

If your paper answers each of these questions clearly, intelligently, and concisely, then you are done. ALSO, anything in the paper that DOES NOT directly contribute to any of these sentences can probably be cut.

I will be using the rubric below to assess your paper. Be sure that you read it carefully and apply it to your composition.

You might also look over this annotated sample paper. Not everything in this sample applies to our assignment, but the general advice applies. Study both this and the rubric carefully before you begin your composition, and plan it out accordingly.     http://prezi.com/z4h1_fwilbxj/a-sample-philosophy-paper/

Paper Assessment Rubric

NOTE: Papers below a C will either fail at all criteria, are completely off topic, or incomplete. An A paper will score in the A-dimension on at least two of three categories (Argument, Comprehension, Writing). A paper with B-dimension scores in two categories but truly outstanding performance in the third will score an A-. A paper with B-dimension scores in two categories and a strong performance in an A-dimension will receive a mark of B+. A congruent scale holds for B, B-, C, C-, and C+ papers.