Informal essay 400-500 words

Weekly Russell Round Up/Commentary

After completing this week’s assigned chapters of Russell’s

The Problems of Philosophy as well as the other required

readings for this week, first, summarize what you learned

from reading Russell this week. Then, your main goal in this

assignment beyond the summary is find connections

between or tie together any theories, themes, concepts,

important ideas, arguments, important observations, etc.

you find in Russell’s work and the particular philosophical

views and the general content covered in the other readings.

There will plenty of material that will invite comparison and analysis. Some of the themes or issues

you should look for include:

 what philosophers do (or the purpose of studying philosophy);

 the possibility of human understanding of the nature of reality in itself;

 the meaning of the “appearance-reality” distinction and its role in knowledge claims;

 the nature and extent of human knowledge;

 the definition of truth and criteria for distinguishing truth from falsehood;

 the value of philosophy.

As you move through the Russell chapters, you will come across the following terms. Be sure you include some analysis and discussion of your understanding of these, from Russell’s point of view as well as whatever other philosophers you are commenting on for that week. (These are in alpha order, not in order of exposition in the text):

 a priori knowledge

 abstract ideas

 correspondence vs. coherence theories of truth

 existence vs. subsistence

 induction vs. deduction

 intuitive knowledge

 Kant’s synthetic a priori

 knowledge by acquaintance

 knowledge by description

 self-evident truths

 sense-data

 universals vs. particulars

This “Round Up” assignment is intended to result in a brief, informal essay of about 400-500 word

and need only cite the philosophers mentioned from the week’s readings (Russell will be cited each

week, of course). But no other outside research is required to get full credit for this assignment.

Think of it as a weekly summary of what you learned that made the most impact on your thinking or

that you found to be the most interesting or even puzzling. You are invited to go beyond just

explaining what the “takeaway” ideas and theories were for you this week through description and

analysis by adding evaluative commentary on the material. Were some ideas introduced but

insufficiently or confusingly explained? Were the arguments sound or strong, or were there

problems with the argumentation? Were some important points glossed over or missed altogether?

Approach this brief essay as a kind of “think piece,” a personal reflection of your learning of this

week’s specific content. Avoid just making a list of topics you read about. Work for originality as

well as clear and concise expression.

You may submit your “Russell Round Up” as file or simply write it directly into the text editor (but

best practice is always to save your work in a file so you don’t risk losing it if your computer shuts

down). Please pay careful attention to grammar, spelling, word use, and writing style; this means you

need to proofread your work before submitting it.

This assignment is worth 5 points (weighted at 4% of your course grade). It is due at the end of

day on each Saturday of the course. No late posts accepted.