Western Thought

PHL 201: Presentation Instructions

Details: In week 14, each student will give a presentation. Presentations are to be 3-5 minutes long. There should be either a visual aid or a handout.

Timing: The presentations will occur in week 14. Details about time slots will be distributed via email on November 9.

Topic: The topic of your presentation will be the application of ethical or social philosophy. You have two options:

1. Take some philosophical theory and use it to make a claim about the rightness or wrongness of some practical matter. Example (you may not use this example): Looking through the lens of the ethics of care helps us understand that never giving to those in need is wrong. (This is a little boring. Pick something a bit more controversial here.)

2. Take the obvious rightness or wrongness of some practical matter and use it to criticize some philosophical position. Example (you may not use this example): I will show that utilitarianism cannot be right because utilitarianism will justify genocide under certain conditions. Since genocide is clearly wrong no matter what, utilitarianism must be wrong.

In the first option, you are treating an ethical theory as having an important insight and using it to make a claim about some disputed issue. In the second option, you are taking an UNDISPUTED issue in ethics or social philosophy and using it to criticize a philosophical theory.

Available ethical/social philosophical theories: Virtue Ethics, Utilitarianism, Kantianism, Ethics of Care, Rawlsian Liberalism

Available practical matters: Destroying the planet like a comic book supervillian, abortion, philanthropy, treatment of inmates (education, access to family, etc), marijuana legalization, private ownership of nuclear weapons, defunding the police, free speech issues, etc.

When choosing, pick a combination that gives you something strong and interesting to argue for. Feel free to run your topic past me by email.

Sources: You are encouraged to use our textbook and the Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy to help you understand the content of your presentation. You may use other sources, but they may not replace your own presentation of the material. Remember, no amount of rewording makes a copied text your own. Sources should be listed in your powerpoint or handout.

Step-by-step Instructions:

Your presentation should do the following things:

Introduce your topic and state your thesis.

Give an extremely brief summary of a philosophical theory, highlighting especially any aspects of that theory that you will be using in your evaluation.

Explain what that theory implies for some practical matter in ethics or social philosophy.

Provide some evaluation.

Conclude.

Visual Aid:

For presentations conducted by zoom, a visual aid (e.g. a powerpoint presentation) can be used using the “share screen function” or a handout can be shared by emailing it to the professor in advance.

Do not overcrowd your visual aid or handout. You should not attempt to read your presentation from the visual aid you provide. I recommend putting a brief outline or a summary of your main points into your visual aid or handout.

Evaluation:

Your presentation will be graded using the Student Presenters Excel at Acquiring Knowledge (S.P.E.A.K.) Rubric for General Education and Lower Level Courses along with two extra categories geared toward this particular assignment:

5 Excellent 4 Proficient 3 Satisfactory 2 Developing 1 Unsatisfactory

The presenter…

1. Provided an introduction that engaged audience interest.

Your primary purpose here is to introduce the topic and your thesis effectively.

2. Offered a clearly-defined thesis.

Explain what your evaluation is going to be.

3. Provided evidence in support of the thesis.

Give strong reasons for the thesis.

4. Maintained eye contact with the audience.

Be sure not to read too much from your presentation. Be engaging.

5. Spoke clearly and loud enough to be heard.

6. Used movement and/or gestures effectively.

This also includes facial gestures. Present in an engaging way.

7. Provided a strong conclusion to the presentation.

Don’t just end. Tell us what you accomplished and why it matters.

8. Met the time requirement.

3-5 minutes.

9. Dressed appropriately for the occasion (put “N/A” if not required by the assignment). N/A

We will skip this requirement. Dress as you normally would for class.

10. Used visual aids effectively.

Your powerpoint or handout must help the hearer follow the presentation.

11. Kept the presentation focused on the topic.

You haven’t much time, so be succinct. Don’t provide unnecessary detail.

12. Exhibited a strong understanding of the relevant philosophical theory.

Get the facts right.

You will receive a score out of 5 on each item, which will generate an average out of 5, which will be multiplied by 20 to give you a grade out of 100.