his assignment works in tandem with our other assignments.
Overview
Your task is to write a short argument paper that addresses a problem a thought experiment can help us think through.
We want you to build a sound argument, one that is both valid and has true premises. The most interesting arguments are ones that propose imaginative but coherent solutions to questions we don’t have a census on yet. Sound arguments are ones that are both:
Have a valid form
Have premises that are true.
By valid form, all we mean is that the structure of the argument supports the conclusion. We always want to use and be able to show that our claims are true and that they reasonably reflect the best of what we think is going on in the world. Here, you’ll show that by providing citations and telling us why the citation is a good one.
Finally, arguments are not trophies, they are instances of communication between real and thoughtful people. Have that guide your work; imagine your reader is really curious about what you have to say and actually wants to collaborate with you on the problem.
Be curious!
Directions.
1. Think of some interesting philosophical question or social issue this class might help illuminate. You’ll be using one of the many thought experiments from the Choosing a Thought Experiment assignment to frame and reply to the question you select, so make sure they vibe well together.
2. Complete the Annotated Bibliography Entries 1 and 2 Worksheet and Annotated Bibliography Entries 3 and 4 Worksheet assignments to get a basic level of understanding the issues and concerns that your thought experiment might help us think through.
3. Complete Validity of Standard Argument to develop your own solution. (Do not cop out and leave it at “people disagree” or “it’s hard, so… yeah.” levels of analysis. Be bold and make a good and reasoned proposal.)
4. With all the core work out of the way, it is time to write your paper! You need to use the following template:
Paper-Short Argument Template-v.1.0-FA23.09.docxDownload Paper-Short Argument Template-v.1.0-FA23.09.docx
5. With that loaded, watch the video directions:
Required Outline
You will need to use the following structure in your paper. You will be graded on each component.
Components 1-4 are worth 25% of the assignment points.
Introduction
Sketch out what we are talking about and what’s at stake by writing out a few paragraphs that cover the following:
What thought experiment are you using?
What makes it interesting to you?
What area of philosophy or society does the thought experiment help us think about? What themes does the thought experiment address?
What difficulty in philosophy or problem in society do you want to address with the thought experiment?
What is the solution, otherwise known as the conclusion, to your argument?
How does the thought experiment help address the difficulty or problem?
The 3-line argument itself
Now you need to list your argument in what’s known as standard form. This will let us create and verify a valid deductive argument, one that is true any time you plug true premises into. All you’ll have is a three-line argument or a chain of three-line arguments, where you re-use the conclusion of the first argument as a premise in the next.
So, all you need to do is list the
2 premises and
Conclusion
Explanation of Soundness
Pull out your Validity of Standard Argument. In it, you used the chapter from Weston on deductive arguments Download chapter from Weston on deductive arguments.
Write up a paragraph or two explaining how the argument form you used above has the same structure as one of the valid forms he lists. The emphasis is on form and structure, not content. Take note of how the premises and conclusions are worded in each example from Weston.
Explanation of True Premises
The other part of a sound argument is that the premises are true. You have already done the legwork here by completing the Selecting a Thought Experiment, Annotated Bibliography Entries 1 and 2 Worksheet and Annotated Bibliography Entries 3 and 4 Worksheet assignments.
So, your task in this section of the paper is to explain how the reader can trust your premises from your argument.
You will need to cite robustly from the readings here. Remember, you need to convince an uninformed reader that they should accept the claims you make in a three-line argument.
Bibliography
This is a simple list of all sources you touched, thought about, quoted, and referenced while doing this assignment, both the ones listed below and the ones used to support your claims. Alphabetize these by author.
Self-Assessment
Thoughtfully and critically reflect on your work. How good is it? Is it good enough? Is it excellent?
Submission format
You will submit this as a DOCX file[1]
Resources on Paper Writing in Philosophy
Harvard Philosophy’s Guide to Writing Philosophy PapersLinks to an external site.
Myers, Brendan, Charlene Elsby, Kimberly Baltzer-Jaray, Nola Semczyszyn, and Alex Zieba. Clear and Present ThinkinLinks to an external site.g. Edited by Brendan Myers, Natalie Ellen, and Melinda Reidinger. Gatineau, Québec, Canada: Northwest Passage Books, 2017.
Smith, Nathan, Gregory Browne, Parish Conkling, Naomi Friedman, Allison Fritz, Daniel Garro, Jeremy Gallegos, et al. Introduction to Philosophy. OpenStax, 2022.
“Logic and Reasoning, Chapter 5.” in Introduction to Philosophy. OpenStax, 2022.
“Critical Thinking, Research, Reading, and Writing, Chapter 2.” In Introduction to PhilosophyLinks to an external site.. OpenStax, 2022.
Weston, Anthony. “Composing an Argumentative Essay.Links to an external site.” In A Rulebook for Arguments, 1992.
“Deductive Arguments.” In A Rulebook for Arguments. Hackett, 2009.
“Short Arguments—Some General RulesLinks to an external site..” In A Rulebook for Arguments. Hackett, 2009.
Self and Peer Assessment
You and two peers will assess your work. If there is a broad and reasonable consensus, I’ll go with one or an average of your scores. I may judge a different score is warranted for the final grade.
Criteria to Assess
Is the 3-line argument itself a sound (valid + true premises) argument?
Is the form explained with references to the valid form used?
Is the trustworthiness of the sources both accurate as well as thoughtfully reflected upon?
If this was given to a thoughtful friend of yours, would they learn something?
Here is how I want you to think through assessing work.
Grade Tier Level Notes
A (100%) Excellent This is reserved for work of exceptional quality. Think about the meaningful length, cleverness, critical and sound thinking, carefully examining evidence or reflecting upon claims.
B (85%) Pretty Good Work that goes well beyond merely meeting the requirements. This can be in terms of prose, clarity, wit, depth, extra research, etc
C (74%) Just Fine This is your baseline. Work that meets the requirements and does so reasonably well with sufficient depth to cover the basics of the assignment earns this grade. Make sure there are no major problems.
D (62%) Meh Something is wrong. Most of the work isn’t bad, but there’s a problem. Maybe it is a lot of rhetorical questions in a row, wordy prose, etc.
High F (50%) Doesn’t Cut It Work that gets at the core of the assignment but is incomplete, incoherent, or has multiple significant problems.
Looooow F (0%) Can’t Even Work that is missing, plagiarized, or has extreme problems.
