Political Essay
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WritingReviewApril151.pptTips for Good Writing: Elements of A Good Essay
1. A clearly-stated thesis up front
- The thesis cannot be a statement of fact, it must be a statement that is arguable, or needs to be proven through textual evidence.
- “Athenians had slaves.”
- “Plato and Aristotle both believe in a natural hierarchy.”
- “Due to Aristotle’s emphasis on practical politics, Aristotle is less pessimistic and tragic
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2. Avoid platitudes:
“since the dawn of time…”
“humanity has been contemplating for centuries….”
“Plato and Aristotle were two of the most important philosophers…”
3. So what? How is your thesis telling us something insightful or illuminating, rather than just restating what has been said in lecture?
- “Aristotle’s idea of the telos was modeled on the biological world.”
- “Plato’s concept of the soul is made up of three different parts.”
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Sample thesis paragraph:
The ancient era of Plato and Aristotle addressed the thoughts of ideals, purpose, and change. Although very similar, likely due to the fact that Aristotle was Plato's student, both of these great thinkers had significant differences that made them each unique yet equally important. Being prominent philosophers in the ancient era, many subjects were covered in their philosophical path to what they believe would be the perfect human life, regime, and hierarchy. Plato, often thinking past the practical, and Aristotle, thinking about the realistic potential, were surprisingly extremely similar. Although Plato and Aristotle had slight but important differences in their ideals, implementations, justice, and telos, both of these ancient thinkers greatly contributed to society, each in their own ways.
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4. Make nuanced statements, not bald, sweeping generalizations that lack subtlety.
Examples:
Both Plato and Aristotle believe in the telos, and both believe that not everyone is fit to participate in politics.
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Aristotle’s view of politics is heavily reliant on cooperation and partnership between people. He views the city as a partnership between people, in an attempt to live well. “But…the city exists not only for the sake of living but rather primarily for the sake of living well” (Aristotle pg. 98). This notion sets the stage for a more equal distribution of power then Plato’s form-intuiting, soul-crafting philosopher kings who tell the masses what the good is. Instead, for Aristotle, the good is when those who are engaged in the partnership of ruling and being ruled in turn come together to discuss matter of the good and decide as a group what is best. While the nature of Aristotle’s politics is more inclusive then Plato’s view, there still are some people who may be unable to participate in this partnership. The working class or banausoi in Aristotle’s view did not have the ability to be good citizens (Aristotle pg. 93). Since they must spend their time engaged in manual labor, they are not able to fully develop as citizens and thus not suited to participate in politics. This viewpoint seems in line with Plato and his exclusive viewpoint on who can participate in politics. However, while Aristotle limits the group of those who can participate, he so not because he feels they are deficient or unable to know the good. Rather, they are busy fulfilling another aspect of the partnership from which all benefit.
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5. Use textual evidence to support your claims.
Make sure the citation/reference you are using actually pertains to the claim you are making!
Use a consistent citation style.
The Allegory of the Cave demonstrates Plato’s pessimism towards human nature. Most people do not want to see the truth, in fact the truth hurts. “Unless philosophers become kings in our cities or unless those who are now kings become true philosophers…there can be no end to troubles, my dear Glaucon.” (Plato, p. 165). This fear of knowing the truth would lead the people to reject or even attempt to harm the very person trying to help them. With this knowledge, the philosopher-king would not be highly inclined to rule, for fear of telling the people what they do not want to hear. “One must turn away from the world of transient things toward the world of perpetual being.” (Plato pg. 212). This creates a paradox in Plato’s view of justice and good politics, for the ones who are best suited to rule are the ones who do not want to rule.
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The Allegory of the Cave demonstrates Plato’s pessimism towards human nature. Most people do not want to see the truth; in fact, the truth hurts. “Let him be compelled to look directly at the light. Would his eyes not feel pain?” (Plato pg. 210). This fear of knowing the truth would lead the people to reject or even attempt to harm the very person trying to help them. With this knowledge, the philosopher-king would not be highly inclined to rule, for fear of telling the people what they do not want to hear. “The truth is that the city where those who rule are least eager to do so will be the best governed and the least plagued by dissension” (Plato pg. 214). This creates a paradox in Plato’s view of justice and good politics, for the ones who are best suited to rule are the ones who do not want to rule.
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6. Does each paragraph have its own central point? Each paragraph should cohere on its own as a tightly-focused unit. Each sentence in the paragraph should flow logically to the next.
Aristotle believes that the effective regime is the one that has the interest of the whole city in mind. Not one person or group of people would benefit more than the rest; if this were the case the governing of the city would be unjust. The perfect regime would not give the power to rule to one sole person because then those who are being ruled would question the fairness of what they are being asked to do and what they are receiving from those who govern. In The Republic by Plato, Plato is very focused on justice. He questions others on what their beliefs on justice are and each answer fails to impress him. He later goes on to say that justice comes from within the person. The human soul is what determines justice and injustice. Plato also states that for the regime to run smoothly, “[t]hat the rulers must be older and the ruled younger is plain. ” (The Republic, 412c), in Plato’s view we see that he thinks that age is important in ruling being that they have more experience. Plato was firm in his belief of, “[o]ne man, one art. ” (The Republic, 370b), to allow the city to run smoothly. Plato believes that everyone has a task to solely commit to so that there is harmony throughout the city. If a citizen wanted to do something other than their task the city would not be able to run efficiently.
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There exists an ideal purpose (or meaning or goal) for individuals in both Plato’s and Aristotle’s conceptualizations of mankind. This ideal purpose is called a telos, or function. According to Plato, the human soul consists of three parts: the reason, or rationality of a person; the spirit, or aggression of a person; and the appetite, or the desires and indulgences of a person (The Republic). Each person is governed, or dominated, by one of these three components, and which they are governed by determines their role in society. Those whose souls are dominated by either spirit or appetite are meant to be ruled and fill positions such as farmers and soldiers in their society. This is because Plato and Aristotle believe they would not be able to make decisions for the betterment of society as a whole; they would be hindered by self-interests and would therefore hinder societal progress. Those whose souls were governed by reason were fit to rule because they would see situations through logical lenses and be able to make assessments and rationally evaluate them; they would be temperate, with none of the three parts conflicting because reason would be governing the whole. Aristotle does not expressly address the three parts of the soul, but seems to agree with Plato that in a political community, there are some fit to rule and others fit to be ruled. Thus, Plato and Aristotle agree upon an ideal state for all things existing, including an ideal design for how the human soul should be set up.
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7. Does each paragraph in the body of the paper flow smoothly and logically to the next? Do all the paragraphs fit together coherently to lead up to the conclusion?
8. Tie it all together with a conclusion: start by telling us what you’re going to argue, make the argument, and conclude by reminding us what you’ve argued, but without repeating yourself.
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Does your paper have a thesis statement? Is it clearly articulated in the introduction? Is it significant, interesting or novel, rather than simply restating what has already been said? Does it avoid platitudes?
Is your paper clearly organized, so that a reader always knows “where they are”? Does the organization of your paper reflect the elements of your thesis statement? Does each paragraph have its own central point? Does each sentence in the paragraph flow logically to the next one? Does each paragraph in the body of the paper flow smoothly and logically to the next? Do all the paragraphs fit together coherently to lead up to the conclusion?
Does your paper make nuanced statements rather than bald, sweeping generalizations that lack subtlety?
Do you use correct grammar and spelling?
Do you demonstrate your knowledge of the texts by using textual evidence to support your claims? Does the citation/reference you are using actually pertain to the claim(s) you are making?
Do you have a coherent concluding paragraph where you tie it all together without repeating yourself?
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