PHI 210 (Assignment 1.2: Conflicting Viewpoints Essay – Part II)

1

5

Assignment 1.2: Conflicting Viewpoints Essay, Part II

Your Essay Title

Your Name

Strayer University

Date

Introduction and Statement of Topic and Position (10%)

This paragraph should introduce the entire essay, the topic you are working on, and also your own position on the topic at hand.

As you use any sources, such as the website, you would cite them based on the order in which you use them and list them on the reference page. If you are discussing procon.org, and it is the first thing you talk about, it will be listed here with the in-text citation (procon.org, 1) and appear as number 1 in your source list. Please erase all imy nstructions when finished so that your paper looks professional.

Three Premises from Procon.org that Support Your Position (10%)

Select three premises that support your position. Be sure to give credit to the website, both here and in your reference page. Explain why you selected these specific reasons.

Explain your answers to the believing questions about the three premises opposing your position from the Procon.org website (10%)

Here, you can summarize your answers from Assignment 1.1. Please don’t present the entire essay again, but be sure to explain the “believing game” and your experiences as you answered the three “believing questions.”

Examine at least two types of biases that you likely experienced as you evaluated the premises for and against your position (15%)

Go back through the biases we considered in our webtext and discussions. Remember that bias is something all humans experience, as we do not live from a position of lofty and neutral omniscience. The key is to analyze your own thoughts and emotions to be aware of them and how they influence your decisions. Keep in mind that you can have bias in favor or someone or something, as well as against. The question is asking about your own biases, not those of the other side.

Examples of biases : confirmation bias, stereotyping, emotional responses, or groupthink. Review chapter 2 in the webtext for help.

Discuss the effects of your own enculturation or group identification that may have influenced your biases (10%)

Factors you may want to consider include socio-economic status or class, race and ethnicity, gender, your occupation, or your religious and political groups. Also, how about your age (generation you belong to), or even where you live (blue state vs. red state, or city vs. country)? Again, none of these group enculturations are necessarily right or wrong; the goal here is to demonstrate awareness of influences that have shaped your life and thinking.

Discuss whether or not your thinking about the topic has changed after playing the “believing game” even if your position on the issue has stayed the same (15%)

It is fine if your position did not change. The goal is simply to do the exercise and then explain how it did or didn’t affect your thinking.

Conclusion

Please include a short concluding paragraph that wraps up the whole essay.

Sources

(numbered in order of use in the paper; these numbers should match your citations within the paper)

No research is required beyond this article and the procon website. Please list both of them here on your reference page and include citations to show where you used them in your paper. You are welcome to include additional sources if you would like to. Delete these instructions in yellow when you are finished. Number these 1, 2, 3, etc. based on the order in which you use them.

Peter Elbow. (2006). The Believing Game and how to Make Conflicting Opinions More Fruitful. In Nurturing the Peacemakers in Our Students: A Guide to Teaching Peace, Empathy and Understanding. Heinemann. Retrieved from http://www.procon.org/sourcefiles/believinggame.pdf.

To find how to refer to your procon page please note their instructions:

Each page on ProCon.org has a "Cite This Page” link in the bottom footer and/or right rail of the page. Clicking the "Cite This Page” link will show proper bibliographic citations for that specific page in APA, Chicago, MLA, and Turabian style formats. You can take the APA format and modify it to meet SWS if needed.

Example:

ProCon.org. (2017, December 1). Right to Health Care ProCon.org. Retrieved from http://healthcare.procon.org/