REVISION: PHILOSOPHY Moral Ethics Term Paper

Writing a philosophy essay

Writing for philosophy is a little different from writing in other subject areas. The key to a successful a philosophy essay is making an argument. An argument is a proposition that is supported by logic and evidence. A good argument is persuasive. It convinces the reader that your proposition is sound, or at least reasonable. It is not important that your argument be true or that you believe what you are writing. Your task is simply to make the case that your proposition has enough support to be taken seriously.

For this course your task is to take a discussion question response and develop it into an argument. Each of the course discussion questions given to you by your instructor is a topic area. For your essay your task is to choose one of those topic areas and develop a proposition, called a thesis statement. The thesis statement should be a clear statement of something you wish to or believe you can prove.

Example DQ (week 3):

Moral relativism is a very popular ethic in North America. Canadians in particular are proud of its variant called multiculturalism. But relativism has serious logical and practical problems. What is your perspective on relativism, especially multiculturalism? Do you support or oppose it? What is your evidence or rationale for your position?

You might want to take a position regarding some aspect of this DQ such as

Moral relativism is a good principle for organizing a nation and multiculturalism is an excellent example of how it is best applied.

This latter statement is your proposition, or thesis. Your essay will prove this thesis. (Note that this is simply an example. Any other proposition in relation to any of the DQs will work just as well.) Your task is then to build a good essay around this proposition.

A good essay is composed of an introduction, a body and a conclusion. In a short essay such as those for this course the introduction and the conclusion are usually a single paragraph each. The body can run as many paragraphs as necessary to make your argument. Typically this is not less than three paragraphs, but it may be as long seven or eight in this assignment.

Introduction

Your introduction is typically three to five sentences, one of which is your thesis statement. Generally a good introduction begins with a background sentence that sets the framework or context for your argument. That is followed by enough detail to let your reader understand what you are planning to accomplish and how you will go about it. For example, in the case above, an introductory paragraph might run as follows:

Governing in pluralistic nation states is difficult, a balancing act of interests and values where nothing is ever clear. For pluralistic nation states moral relativism is a good operating principle and policies of multiculturalism are among the best way to ensure the social good. Canada is an excellent example of how multiculturalism functions this way and my experience as an immigrant is a textbook case of integration through multiculturalism and moral relativism.

In this three sentence introduction, the first sentence develops the general context, governing in nation states. Then the thesis is clearly stated. The third sentence provides the reader with information regarding why the author believes this to be true and suggests how the essay will support or prove the thesis. Notice that it would be easy to break the final sentence into two sentences or even to add more information that would give more details on how the essay will proceed. The limits are up to the writer and are a question of personal style or a sense of how much information is needed for the reader.

Second paragraph (definitions and history)

In philosophy essays it is very common to follow the introduction with a section that explains the key terms and locates the writer’s argument in terms of philosophical history. It is very common to quote sources or predecessors in this section. In the example developed above there are a number of terms that might have different meanings and for which the author would want to be clear exactly what is meant. The key terms in this case would certainly include “moral relativism” and “multiculturalism”, both of which can be used in a number of different ways. There is also a long history of philosophical arguments around the best moral system for operating a nation state and the author might wish to refer to these, though in a short essay such as for this class that would not typically be the case.

Support paragraphs

Following the definitions paragraph the body of the essay would follow. The body is composed of a series of explanatory paragraphs that carefully justify the thesis. Each paragraph would start with a topic sentence that explains how it supports the thesis. For example, four successive topic sentences might be:

Canada is a pluralistic nation state that has developed a sophisticated ethic of multiculturalism.

As an immigrant I brought to Canada strong convictions about right and wrong.

In Canada I found I could live out my convictions with ease, though I did have to make a few adjustments in minor areas.

Any reasonable person would find accommodation in Canada’s multiculturalism to be easy.

Each of these topic sentences would be followed by a paragraph of three to five (or more) sentences that provides the evidence for the claim made in each topic sentence. Together they add up to an argument in favour of the core proposition. You will notice that each paragraph also prepares the ground for the one that follows. This is typical in a short essay such as this. In a longer work of philosophy this might not be the case. Then other relationships between key ideas might be used to organize the body of the essay.

Conclusion

Once the body of the essay is written it remains to write the conclusion. This is typically the hardest paragraph to write and many students forget to do so. It is also possible, as in the case above, that the final paragraph in the argument serves in some respects as the conclusion. However, even if your final paragraph of your argument wraps up your case, it is still very helpful for your reader if you write up a final concluding paragraph the tidies up the whole and draws your argument back to its point of origin. While it is not necessary to do so, it is quite common to use the introduction as a model and write the conclusion by reversing the introduction and making it clear how it has been carried out. Such a process also helps the author to check to make sure the argument has been carried through in a logical fashion and has not “travelled” to a conclusion that is quite distant from the point of origin. Ideally every point in the essay has simply expanded on the introduction in a logical way and the conclusion is your check to ensure that that is what has happened.

In the case of the example above, the conclusion might run as follows:

As this essay has demonstrated, immigrants coming to Canada can easily integrate into the whole through the welcome provided by multiculturalism. While the moral relativism that supports this might seem to deny truth, even conservative believers in right and wrong such as myself find that our truth is not denied and that we can effectively participate in Canadian life. Clearly, in our complex world where so many forces divide people, moral relativism and multiculturalism can help people work together for the good of all.

I hope that this explanation will help you develop your ideas and write them in coherent essays. As I identified, this is a difficult way to think, but once you see how it works it makes it much easier to develop persuasive ideas. You should also find that it helps you develop your thoughts in other areas. Philosophy is about little more than clear thinking, and clear thinking helps in many areas of life.