philosophy

Introduction to Philosophy (Philosophy 11) Fall 2016-2017 Professor Winther TAs Franklin, Raymond, Rule, Tibbets Tutor Coffin Paper #2 Prompt Due: October 27, 2016 at the beginning of class. See syllabus for policy on late papers. Any paper turned in after class starts is considered late. Background: As the syllabus states, at this stage of the course, you will be divided into groups, by TA- led discussion sections. Think about which knowledge area you would primarily like your project to be about: 1. philosophy, 2. humanities, 3. natural sciences, or 4. the arts. You can link this exercise to your major, or to long-standing interests. Make a decision about which of the four general areas impassions you most, and about which you know something and would be energized to join forces with others to develop a group project to be presented to the class (Week 10). We will use this paper to group you. Prompt: If you were to teach one of the four knowledge areas to an undergraduate class using a number of the tools in The Philosopher’s Toolkit how would you do it? (Minimum: 5 tools; maximum: 15 tools; you can group tools together.) Which tools would you use, and why? Which specific case studies or topics in your area would you select? (Be as concrete as possible given the space constraints, granting that if you are a Freshman, or even a Senior, you have yet much to learn! We all do.) What makes those cases or topics particularly illustrative of the tools, or the tools especially applicable to them? What would you hope that the students learned from this exercise of connecting tools (method) and area (content)? What could you do to help students learn and practice? Evaluation: Please write a coherent, well-argued 2-page paper (single-spaced, minimum 10 pt. of a reasonable font, minimum 1 inch margins). Yes, this paper requires independent thinking. No, you cannot chose case studies or topics under a general area that has already discussed in class, even if you choose philosophy. Yes, you will almost certainly have to do a little bit of research, or go over previous classes, and cite a few sources (MLA, Chicago or APA style; please refer to the syllabus for writing and reading advice; scholarly sources can be found on the library website, and other places). No, you do not need to explain the case study or topic in long detail. A good answer will be a well-structured essay delineating a few examples or topics of the given area chosen (between 1-3, ideally; one needs to be a theory of some sort in your field: e.g., evolutionary theory in the natural sciences; Marxism or Feminism in the social sciences). More importantly, it will also give a robust account of which tools could be used by undergraduate students to understand, theoretically explore, and critique the area. Above all, an excellent essay will show how and why students could gain from deploying philosophical tools to topics of a given area.

Read. Write. Edit. Rewrite. Read. Write. Edit. Rewrite. …

[“A Lady Writing,” ca. 1666, Vermeer; “A Hermit Writing,” 165*, van Brekelenkam]