Philosophy Research Paper

Choose three questions from the attached list of “Ten Central Philosophical Questions”, and for each question or issue, do the following:

1. Determine a reasonable "pro" and "con" position for each issue.

2. State the  pro  position in the form of a thesis statement.

3. To the best of your ability, develop an argument for the pro position. Note that you personally may disagree with this position; the challenge is to find the best argument possible here.

4. Consider at least two possible objections to the pro argument, or a possible counterargument to the pro position.

5. Respond to each objection or counterargument in reasserting the pro position.

6. Re-state the pro thesis in an expanded form (i.e., in a way that takes account of what has just been argued and considered).

7. Now state the  con  position in the form of a thesis statement.

8. To the best of your ability, develop an argument for the con position. Regardless of where you stand personally on the issue, you should be able to present arguments for both sides.

9. Consider at least two possible objections to the con argument, or a possible counterargument to the con position.

10. Respond to each objection or counterargument in reasserting the con position.

11. Re-state the con thesis in an expanded form (i.e., in a way that takes account of what has just been argued and considered).

12. Finally, critically analyze and evaluate the arguments for both sides of the issue and determine which side has the better argument and say why. If you think both sides have equally good arguments or equally bad arguments, explain why.

You will be constructing these three sections for each of the three issues you have selected. Each three-section issue treatment (pro argument/con argument/critical analysis & evaluation) should be a minimum of around 500 words, for a word-count minimum of 1500 words for the entire assignment. You may exceed the minimum by up to 1000 words, for a word-count maximum of 2500 words.  In each issue treatment, you should make at least two references to readings from the text and cite at least two additional outside sources, for a total of at least six references from the course text and at least six outside sources (they may be in electronic or printed format). There is no upper limit on the number of sources you may cite. Please note that Wikipedia will not be accepted as one of these sources. Be sure to follow proper documentation format using MLA, APA, or Chicago style. Remember also that you must cite your sources within the text as well as on a works-cited or references page. Only sources that you actually cite within the paper should appear on the list of sources or references. Ideally, a formal paper or set of argumentative essays like this should be in the third-person voice ["one, he, her, it, they"] (and never in the second-person voice ["you"]). However, you may use the first-person voice ["I, we"] if what you want to say demands it; for example, you may want to bring in personal experience as part of your evidence or commentary. But overall, try to maintain a third-person voice.  This assignment is laid out so as to help you understand the particular structure of a philosophy paper. You will be following the structure of an argumentative essay; remember that this is not a report that simply presents information on a topic, nor is it a narrative essay. What you are doing when you write a philosophy paper is, primarily, asserting a claim (which typically states your own position) on an issue or topic, showing why you think the claim is true, and defending this claim against possible opposition. Therefore, each of the three issue treatments for this assignment should have all of the following elements:

 THESIS (this is an original statement that is specific, significant, and presents a clear position on the issue or topic at hand.)

 ANALYSIS and EXPLANATION of the THESIS SUPPORTING ARGUMENTS (This is the "meat" of the paper.)

 OBJECTIONS to the THESIS (This is a good place to use your source material. You may even come up with your own objections.)

 RESPONSE/REPLIES to the OBJECTIONS (Never leave an objection or opposing argument unanswered.)

 SUMMATIVE CRITICAL ANALYSIS and EVALUATION.

The Course Text is “About Philosophy (11th Edition) by Robert Paul Wolff.”

If you don’t have access to this book, access it using my kindle, the login info is