Philosophy essay

Essay #2: Assignment Topics and Instructions

NB: Before starting your essay, you should read this entire document as

well as the information in the ‘Essay Assignments: Grading Criteria and

Helpful Information’ folder.

The articles given below are from The New York Times. Non-subscribers are

limited to the number of articles they can read, but the Richland Library has full

access to The New York Times. You can access The New York Times via this

DCCCD Library web page.

Choose one of the topics below.

Topic #1: Free Will

Chapter 7 of our text deal with the problem of free will. Read this article from

The New York Times and write an essay that connects the article to the

philosophical problem of free will. Your essay must include reference to chapter

7 of our text as well as at least one reference to an article/entry in either The

Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy or The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy,

through quotation and/or paraphrase. Rather than your opinion on whether

we have free will, your essay should be a philosophical discussion of the

problem of free will.

Topic #2: Thinking Machines

Chapter 5 of our text deals with the question of thinking machines. Read this

article from The New York Times and write an essay that connects the article to

the philosophical problem of whether machines can or could ever ‘think,’. Your

essay must include reference to chapter 5 of our text as well as at least one

reference to an article/entry in either The Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy or

The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy, through quotation and/or paraphrase.

Rather than your opinion on whether machines could think, your essay should

be a discussion of the problem of knowing whether machines can think.

In addition to what is described above, your essay must include the following:

• A heading done according to MLA

• An original title

• An introductory paragraph that contains your thesis (see this VERY

helpful advice on how to write your intro/begin your essay, and if you are

unsure of how to write a thesis, read this advice on developing a thesis)

• A summary of the New York Times article related to the topic you chose

(If you are unsure of how to write a summary, read this helpful advice on

how to correctly summarize a text)

• Body paragraphs that discuss the problem of free will or the problem of

thinking machines, depending on the topic you chose, through reference

to the article, chapters of our text given above, depending on your topic,

and at least one of the other sources mentioned above (here is some

excellent advice on how to structure body paragraphs)

• A minimum of 3 full pages (your works cited page doesn’t count as a

page)

• A conclusion (see this VERY helpful advice on how to conclude your

essay)

Your essay should be double-spaced, in Times New Roman 12 point font; your

paper should be written in Standard English and done in MLA format. You must

include a MLA works cited page that includes all sources used in your essay,

including the article I provided.

To submit your paper, click on ‘Essay 2.’ You should attach a file that can be

opened with Microsoft Word (doc or docx); do not submit a pdf or type in the

submission box.

Any instance of plagiarism will be punished by a minimum of an F on the

assignment and a report to the associate dean of the humanities division.

Further punishment could include failure in the course, suspension, or

expulsion.