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Introduction to Philosophy Philosophy 110

Fall Term 2015 – Purdue University Instructor: Daniel Kelly

Teaching Assistants: Vincent Jacobson and Brandon Rdzak Paper Assignment #1

• The assignment is to choose one of the following topics and write a 4 - 5 page paper on that topic. If you have questions about the particular topics, or about the paper in general, please bring them up in class or office hours.

• Papers are due by the end of lecture, Tuesday, September 22nd. Any papers not given, in person, to the instructor by that time will be considered late. Unless special arrangements have been made, electronic submissions will be considered late. As stated in the syllabus, there is a 7-point per day late penalty on all papers; no excuses will be accepted.

• Be sure to write your name, topic, section and TA the first page of your paper. Your paper should be double spaced, and have reasonable (i.e. 1 inch max) margins on the top, bottom, and sides of each page. Be sure to staple the pages of your paper together.

• Reminder: Cite your sources, and make sure those sources do not include Wikipedia. Drawing on the posted lecture notes or outside source material is fine, just be sure to properly cite them. Materials and ideas borrowed or paraphrased from a source that is not cited are plagiarized. Plagiarism will result in an automatic F for the course, and the plagiarizer’s name will be given to the Purdue administration.

• If in doubt, use APA Style Citation Format (http://web.ics.purdue.edu/~drkelly/APAStyleGuide2004.pdf).

Topics:

1. The Ontological Argument purports to establish the existence of God based on reflections on the concept or idea of GOD. If you choose to write on this topic, your task is to explain the Ontological Argument, consider what you think is the best objection to that argument, and then provide a reason or reasons for thinking that one side has the better case, being sure to clearly show how those reasons are relevant to the dialectic set up earlier in the paper. Your paper should include:

a. A clear, detailed description of the most important concepts used in Anselm’s Ontological Argument (examples may prove useful here)

b. A description of the form of argument known as reductio ad absurdum c. A statement of the basic idea behind the Ontological Argument d. A clear, detailed statement of the Ontological Argument itself e. A clear, detailed statement of one Skeptical Objection that has been made to

the Ontological Argument – this should include a description of what part of the Ontological Argument the objection is calling into question (is one of the premises false or implausible? Does one of the steps, perhaps the conclusion, not logically follow from the previous steps?)

f. Decide who you think has the more convincing case, and provide a clear, detailed description of a reason or reasons for thinking that that side, either Defenders or Skeptics of the Ontological Argument, is more convincing

2. The Teleological Argument purports to establish the existence of God based on

observations about the physical and biological world. If you choose to write on this topic, your task is to explain the Teleological Argument, consider what you think is the best objection to that argument, and then provide a reason or reasons for thinking that one side has the better case, being sure to clearly show how those reasons are relevant to the dialectic set up earlier in the paper. Your paper should include:

a. A clear, detailed description of the most important concepts used in the Teleological Argument (examples may prove useful here)

b. A description of the form of the Teleological Argument – what kind of argument is the main argument, and what kind of argument is the sub- argument Paley gives in support of the second premise?

c. A clear, detailed statement of the Teleological Argument itself, including a discussion of how Paley supports each of the premises

d. A clear, detailed statement of one Skeptical Objection that has been made to the Teleological Argument – this should include a description of what part of the Teleological Argument the objection is calling into question (is one of the premises false or implausible? Does one of the steps, perhaps the conclusion, not logically follow from the previous steps?)

e. Decide who you think has the more convincing case, and provide a clear, detailed description of a reason or reasons for thinking that that side, either Defenders or Skeptics of the Teleological Argument, is more convincing

3. The Problem of Evil argument purports to show that the existence of an

omnipotent, omniscient, perfectly benevolent God who loves us is incompatible with much of what we observe about the world, and concludes that such a God does not exist. If you choose to write on this topic, your task is to explain the Problem of Evil Argument, consider what you think are the best two objections to that argument, and then provide a reason or reasons for thinking that one side has the better case, being sure to clearly show how those reasons are relevant to the dialectic set up earlier in the paper. Your paper should include:

a. A clear, detailed statement of the Problem of Evil Argument itself i. Be sure to explain what supports the premises ii. Examples will be useful here

b. A clear, detailed statement of what you think are the two best Skeptical Objections made against the Problem of Evil Argument, including a description of what part of the Problem of Evil Argument each objection is calling into question (is one of the premises false or implausible? Does one of the steps, perhaps the conclusion, not logically follow from the previous steps?)

c. Decide who you think has the more convincing case, and provide a clear, detailed description of a reason or reasons for thinking that that side, either Defenders or Skeptics of the Problem of Evil Argument, is more convincing