College PHIL 1000 Level assignment

You are to write a five pages (font size 12pt, double spaced) essay on one of the following themes.

What are the central tenets of a rationalist approach to epistemology? What challenges does this epistemological view face?

Is utilitarianism a moral theory that you find convincing? Why? Explain your reasons by making reference to at least one real case situation/issue.

Guidelines

Each time you cite a source make sure to clearly identify that that passage is a quote (always include the references to the original source, pages, author(s), etc)

No plagiarism. Each paper will be checked through the anti plagiarism software.

Criteria to follow in writing the paper (these criteria will be use for the evaluation of the paper)

The introduction is one of the most important parts of a paper. You want it to be clear, concise and effective. There are three things you absolutely need to mention in your introductory paragraph: the topic of your essay, a brief summary of the views you are going to talk about in your essay, and  a brief explanation of the original thesis you are going to defend. In the introduction the thesis subject should be clearly and easily identifiable.

In the discussion of the topic you should accurately describe the views relevant to the topic you choose. If you place two or more views into critical opposition you should not just give an exposition of each view but also make an explicit comparison between them and show and discuss the reasons of the similarities and differences between those views.

You should show some original thought in your paper. This might come in the form of introducing an entirely new argument, but it might come in the form of raising an original objection to an argument found in the reading or that we discussed in class. Always justify you claims.

As it is really important to have a clear introduction, it is crucial to have a clear conclusion. You should make sure that your conclusion actually follows from your premises and that is an understandable conclusion that can be derived from an intelligible inferential process.