Final paper prompt
Use this prompt to write a 10-12 page, typed,
double-spaced essay in 11 or 12 point font, and submit it as a .pdf (.hwp files are not acceptable).
Please note that I will not accept late papers, or papers submitted in any other way than through
being uploaded on LearnUs, so please make sure to complete your paper in time to submit it
properly. Part of the point is to help you work on the completeness, clarity and concision of your
writing, and so you’re likely to be penalized for going substantially under or over the length
limits. Do not simply copy and paste things from the class notes: this will be considered
plagiarism.
Your task in this paper is to explain Taylor’s picture of what it is to be a person, building on the
picture he presented in “Self-interpreting animals” by focusing on the arguments of Part I of
Sources of the Self.
First, briefly summarize Taylor’s argument that we are self-interpreting animals as he presents it
in the essay of that title. Make sure to emphasize those aspects of his picture there that you will
develop further in the remainder of your paper, so you can lay the groundwork for your
discussion of Sources of the Self. In other words, this introductory section of the essay should
flow naturally into your discussion of that book.
As you discuss Sources of the Self, you should make sure to explain: (a) what a moral framework
is; (b) the three axes of evaluation, and Taylor’s metaphor of moral space; (c) Taylor’s arguments
that our relation to the moral space we inhabit is crucial for our understanding of our own
identities (i.e., the importance of having an orientation in moral space through an understanding
of the good, of having a sense of one’s location in moral space), and why Taylor thinks such self-
understanding is essentially narrative; (d) what hypergoods are, and how they’re different from
other goods; and (e) what moral sources (a.k.a. constitutive goods) are, how they are different
from other goods, and how they are important for us; as well as (f) why Taylor thinks articulating
our understanding of the good is important for our moral lives. As you tackle (a)-(f), it would be
helpful to make liberal use of concrete examples. You may use some of Taylor’s examples, but I
encourage you to formulate your own and/or elaborate on some of Taylor’s examples in ways that
will aid in the clarity of your explanations.
Lastly, as in the midterm paper, critically evaluate Taylor’s views. Since there are many moving
parts to his arguments, for this portion of your paper to be effective, you should consider a
discrete claim or argument Taylor makes, consider possible objections to it, and possible
responses to those objections, attempting to be as careful and precise as you can.
