Paper
Paper Topics
Guidelines for writing paper
Tips on Writing a Philosophy Paper
Paper Topic
Explain Descartes’ Evil Demon Argument and the challenge it poses to our knowledge of the external world. Then briefly explain Descartes’ proposed solution to the Evil Demon Argument, starting with Cogito ergo sum and including one of the arguments (Imprint or Omnipotence) for the existence of God. Do you find the argument you described (Imprint or Omnipotence) persuasive? In other words, do you think Descartes has successfully argued for the existence of God? Give at least one reason why or why not you think Descartes’ argument is successful.
Guidelines for writing paper
Length: 2 – 3 pages; anything shorter than two pages will not leave you enough room to include everything you need.
Due date: Papers are due on Friday, May 3 by 10 p.m. You must deposit an electronic copy in a drop box on D2L.
Topic: The topic for your paper will be chosen from the list of topics on D2L. If you wish to write on a different topic, the topic needs to be cleared by me.
Format: The paper will be written in Times New Roman 12 size font with one-inch margins to both right and left and top and bottom, and double-spaced. Your name will need to be in the header.
Research: The topic will be focusing on issues raised in the reading and lecture so outside research is not required and I would discourage it for this paper.
Plagiarism/Citations: Plagiarism is defined as reproducing the work of another and claiming it as your own. Do not do it – the penalties are severe, and you will be found out. If you do quote directly from another work, clearly mark the quoted part (most likely with quotation marks) and cite the work the quote is taken from in parentheses, a footnote, or an endnote. For the purposes of this class the exact form of the citation is not important – what is important is putting the information of where the quote comes from. Citing the work will enable you to make sure to avoid charges of plagiarism. If you do not know how to cite please ask me for help.
Writing: If you have any problems with writing, please come to me for help (or at least have me read a draft).
Final note: I want you to do well on your paper and will help you in any way I can (short of writing it for you). If you need help with a particular argument or are having problems with a particular paragraph, send me an email and I will help you. It is usually very helpful to make an outline to help structure your paper. If you make an outline and want feedback on it please email it to me and I’ll give you feedback.
What not to do when writing a Philosophy paper
Do not ask a question in the paper unless you immediately answer it. Asking a question can sound profound – Why would God hold a lottery? – questions don’t impart information and must be used sparingly, if at all. Questions tell the reader nothing except that the writer is musing about something. A better approach would be to phrase what you want to say in the form of statements rather than questions – It is suspicious that God would hold a lottery since a person with evil intent could have won – since statements impart information. If you ask a bunch of rhetorical questions, it will negatively impact your grade.
Tips on Writing a Philosophy Paper
One of the most important things in writing philosophy papers is to thoroughly explain the arguments, objections, and responses, with particular attention paid to any key terms. You need to write the paper by assuming a certain level of ignorance in your audience. The level of ignorance you need to assume is a little tricky, but a good rule of thumb is to write to an audience that is familiar with philosophy but not familiar with the particular issue you are discussing. For example, if you were to write a paper on the Problem of Evil, you can assume your audience knows what an argument, objection, and response are, as well as having some idea of what you mean by the term ‘God.’ You need to explain the exact characteristics of God, including omnipotence, omnibenevolence, and omniscience, beyond the obvious meaning of all-powerful, all-good, and all-knowing. You would also need to specifically identify evil as suffering and then explain exactly why evil and God may be incompatible. You would then go on to explain the Free Will Defense, specifically what it is and how it is supposed to show that evil and God can be compatible. Then you would discuss an objection to the Free Will Defense and a response to that objection.
Remember, in general too much explanation is better than too little explanation. Probably around the point where you think you have too much explanation is when you will most likely have enough explanation. Examples can help to flesh out explanations and sometimes it is useful to use personal examples. In a relatively short paper, though, it is important not to get too carried away with discussing examples so that you leave too little room to explain the needed philosophical terms, arguments, objections, and responses. Writing a philosophy paper is not easy (if it was easy everyone would be able to do it) but remember that I am here to help you. If you want me to read over your paper or just get stuck on something don’t hesitate to come to me for help. This is a learning process and you shouldn’t expect to write fabulous papers right out of the gate.
