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Midterm Reflections/Possible Topics for Midterm Research Essay.html

Possible Topics for Midterm Research Essay

Choose one topic to research and develop into a multi-paragraph research essay: Use primary sources in the words of the philosophers as well as secondary sources explaining their ideas as you organize and develop body paragraphs.

• Contrast Socrates with the philosophers that came before and after him. Why did Socrates become the model for the philosopher’s way? Use primary source quotations in the words of Socrates as well and secondary sources about his actions, ideas, and impact.
• Compare and contrast Plato and Aristotle in their approach to metaphysics or the nature of reality. Use primary source quotations in the words of Plato and Aristotle as as well and secondary sources about their ideas and theoretical approaches to reality.
• Contrast the Rationalist and Empirical approaches to epistemology and describe Kant's synthesis of both Rationalism and Empiricism in his theory of knowledge. Use primary source quotations from Plato, Descartes, Lock, and especially Kant as well as secondary sources about their theories of how we acquire knowledge.
• Explore major philosophical theories or constructs of the soul, self, or brain. How do freewill and determinism apply to our perception of the self? (Chap 4-optional) Consider Hume’s fictional self and the Buddhist concept of the No-Self as an alternative perspective. Use primary sources in the words of the philosophers in your essay, as well as secondary sources about their constructs of the self or personal identity.

(Learning Objectives Supported: 1b, 2a, 3b, 4a, 4b, 4c)