PHILOSOPHY ESSAY WRITING WORKSHOP

October 17, 2019Writing Workshop

1

COURSE BUSINESS

Short Paper # 1:

Due Next Week (Online via Moodle)

Paper Topics:

Questions?

ON WRITING

On the importance of writing

Every piece of writing has an objective

Clarity as the chief virtue of writing

Writing requires practice

Writing requires a plan of attack

Best way to write?

EXCEPTION = FRANCE*

START WRITING! …EDIT LATER

3

ON WRITING

2 METHODS IMPROVE YOUR WRITTEN SKILLS

1) Practice + Repetition + Feedback

2) Read more!

3) Magic? NEGATIVE… :(

4

ON [NOT] WRITING

MERLIN MANN ON PROCRASTINATION

Procrastination is an effect not a cause. It is when you temporality forget who you are or who you want to be. It’s when you forget what you’re suppose to be paying attention to, and when you lose confidence about what your options are for doing something about it.

Writer’s Block = Lack of Preparation or Confidence

Merlin’s [OLD] Blog: 43Folders.com“Time, Attention and Creative Work”

5

ON WRITING

WRITER’S CREEDO

Writing is RE-WRITING

Don’t be this guy →

Writing is a process…

… perhaps beautiful

… perhaps painful

PHIL’S WRITING ETHOS Writing is like child-birth

6

WRITING FAQS

CITATIONS/REFERENCES/PARAPHRASING

1) Citation Style — just be consistent; in-text citations recommended, but not required

2) Citation Requirements — cite ideas that are taken from the text

3) Paraphrasing — putting someone’s ideas into your own words (requires a citation — not your ideas

- avoid / minimize direct quotations… focus on paraphrasing - shows your understanding

7

WRITING FAQS

WRITING STYLE

4) Formal vs. Informal — more formal than text-conversation…but don’t be “overly” formal

- Focus on writing clearly rather than formally - Most convincing arguments — clear arguments

5) Use of the first person “I”

6) General style — philosophy papers — ergo, constructing

7) Use of philosophical terms concepts

8) Narrowing down topics — think quality over quantity8

WHAT IS A PHILOSOPHY PAPER?

ARGUMENT with reasons to support a conclusion

Reasoned defence of some claim — TAKE A STANCE!

Exercise in abstract reasoning

More time spent THINKING than writing

9

OPINIONS ARE LIKE…

Difference between your OPINION and an ARGUMENT

FIRST THING’S FIRST: We want to read what YOU think!

Can’t only make assertions — back up your claims with reasons to form an argument

Engage with the arguments covered in texts

Engage with the arguments as directly as possible

10

WHY? SO WHAT? EXPLAIN FURTHER

Always think about the SO WHAT? question

Explore your own reasoning process

Make an assertion… EXPLAIN significance

Arguments as causal-chains of reasoning

Engage with the author’s argument

11

WRITERS; NOT PSYCHICS

You are would-be writers/ aspiring reasoners…NOT [BULLSHIT] PSYCHICS!

Reasoned/considered/thoughtful disagreement…ENCOURAGED!

Your OBJECTIVE as a paper-writer…

…not [necessarily] to change your prof’s mind

…present a reasoned defence of a position/claim

…CERTAINLY NOT…to provide a definitive solution

12

KEY ELEMENTS

Be as direct and specific as possible — ‘implicit’ arguments do not make good papers

Well reasoned argument — not definitive or groundbreaking argument

QUALITY over QUANTITY

Short paper: BE CONCISE!

13

KEY ELEMENTS

Explain important terms and concepts

Unpack important claims

EXAMPLE: Cash for Sterilization

ARGUMENT: a drug addicted women is not capable of making a voluntary decision when offered easy cash

Explain the significance of your claims: SO WHAT?

14

ESSAY STRUCTURE

Hamberger/1-3-1 Model

Burn this out of your minds

Virtually every paper will have more than three body paragraphs

No single formula — every paper is like a snowflake

15

ESSAY STRUCTURE

Break down a question into its component parts

SAMPLE QUESTION: After some protestations, Meno concedes to Socrates that people do not need Knowledge, and should rest content with achieving “correct opinions”. Explain Plato’s argument for why it is enough for people have achieve “correct opinions.” Evaluate whether Meno was too quick to concede the point to Socrates, and discuss your reasons why.

16

ESSAY STRUCTURE

COMPONENT PARTS:

EXPOSITION

- Socrates’s position on knowledge/correct opinion- Socrate’s reasons for thinking correct opinion equally valuable

EVALUATION

- Reason(s) for agreeing/disagreeing with Meno’s decision to concede to Socrates

17

ESSAY STRUCTURE

EXPOSITION

- definition of knowledge - definition of correct opinion

- how knowledge differs from correct opinion- why knowledge “appears” more valuable - necessary conditions for “correct” opinion

- function / purpose of knowledge - how correct opinion can play the same role as knowledge

EVALUATION

- Knowledge unattainable - What is unattainable is a poor guide for action- How can something guide action if we can’t attain it?

- Additional conditions on opinions being “correct” safeguard search for a guide - for opinion to be “correct” must be reliable - best guide is a reliable guide!

COUNTER ARGUMENT(S): knowledge “shackled” unlike correct opinion

Thesis: If the point of attaining knowledge is having a reliable guide, then correct opinion is just as valuable as knowledge.

18

PLAN OF ATTACK

Start with an outline![I’m delighted to review outlines >48 prior to deadlines]

Strategy — Divide word count among component parts [reverse engineer if necessary]

- introduction = ~200 words - conclusion = ~150 words

- exposition = ~ 400 words - evaluation = ~ 450 words

BAD STRATEGY…

- introduction + exposition = 1,000 words - well…now I need to fit evaluation + conclusion in remaining words…

900 words remaining!

OH CRAP! Now what?!?

RESIST THE URGE TO FREAKOUT!LIST YOUR “TOPIC WORDS”

19

COMPONENT PARTS

INTRODUCTION

Preview of the paper — Roadmap of your argument

Topic sentence: not overly general; avoid clichés

Finish with a thesis statement — the central claim that you’ll be defending in the paper

SAMPLE THESIS STATEMENT:

“Russell correctly concludes that our knowledge of “the table” is the product of an immediate inference because at no point do we have an idea of the whole table in our minds, and we only have access to the various properties of tables that we combine together through the use of an inference.”

20

COMPONENT PARTS

EXPOSITION

Before you can evaluate an argument, need to present the argument under investigation for context

This is where you’ll define the relevant terms, concepts, and central ideas

RULE OF THUMB: Should be less than ½ the paper

21

COMPONENT PARTS

EVALUATION

Bulk of the paper…

Provide your argument in support of your conclusion

Address the article’s central arguments/claims, and resist the temptation to latch on to peripheral issues

Avoid begging-the-question — provide reasons in support of your conclusion

22

COMPONENT PARTS

CONCLUSION

Briefly restate what you’ve proven in the paper

Good idea to restate your thesis statement (NOT word for word) at the beginning of the conclusion

Avoid lengthy introductions and conclusions — no more than ½ page each

23

QUOTATIONS

Avoid lengthy direct quotations

Use direct quotations sparingly

Every quotation needs to be interpreted/unpacked

Learn to paraphrase — citations are absolutely necessary

24

VOCABULARYThe most convincing prose…is clear prose

Use a thesaurus with CAUTION!

BLUNT ADVICE… don’t try to “sound smart”…be smart

…but PROF. SMOLENSKI uses big words all the time in class?

…that’s because PROF. SMOLENSKI is well read and knows the meanings (and appropriate usages) of many words

HELPFUL ADVICE FROM MARK TWAIN: “Don’t use a five-dollar word when a fifty-cent word will do.”

Example — “rebuttal” …why not “response” or “reply” ?

25

PANDAS AND PUNCTUATION

PANDAS…

Whimsical bear-like creatures with black/white spots, or… murderous restaurant patrons?

STORY TIME… A panda walks into a café. He orders a sandwich, eats it, then draws a gun and proceeds to fire it at the other patrons.

“Why?" asks the confused, surviving waiter amidst the carnage, as the panda makes towards the exit. The panda produces a badly punctuated wildlife manual and tosses it over his shoulder.

“Well, I'm a panda,” he says. “Look it up.”

26

PANDAS AND PUNCTUATION

The waiter turns to the relevant entry in the manual and, sure enough, finds an explanation. "PANDA. LARGE BLACK-AND-WHITE BEAR-LIKE MAMMAL, NATIVE TO CHINA. EATS, SHOOTS AND LEAVES."

27

PUNCTUATION

It matters... A LOT!

Do not use punctuation that you do not know how to use properly

[e.g., SEMI-COLONS!!!]

Lynne Truss's

EATS, SHOOT AND LEAVES: A ZERO TOLERANCE APPROACH TO PUNCTUATION

28

PROOFREADING

It matters... A LOT (TOO)!

Proofreading and the buddy system

Read the paper ALOUD to catch mistakes

29

NEXT LECTURE

Personal Identity

John Lock,

“Of Identity and Diversity”

(pp. 505-511)

30