Philosophy

Paper


PAPER TOPIC

Cliord argues that It is wrong always, everywhere

and for anyone to believe anything upon
insucient evidence. James, on the other hand,
argues that in some cases one has the right to
believe even without evidence. Who is right?
AHer fairly analyzing Cliords arguments for his
idea, and James arguments against it, argue for
one side.

Some Guidelines
1. This is a 4 to 5 page paper (sPck to this length)
2. Normal and standard fonts (not courier), one-inch margins.
3. Paper should be typed, double spaced, and stapled. I do not
accept e-mailed papers.
4. Always keep an extra copy.
5. Paper should be checked for grammar and spelling mistakes.
6. Do not use a Ptle page. Put name, date, and course number
at the top of page one. All pages should be numbered.
7. Due in in class on April 12th.
8. The paper counts for 30% of your nal grade.

Philosophical WriPng
In contrast to the wriPng that may be characterisPc of
other elds, like history, sociology, or journalism,
philosophy does not simply report facts, or provide
exposiPon of ideas, or express the authors beliefs.
The papers are not expository papers or research papers,
and they are not opinion pieces. Rather the paper is
analy(cal and argumenta(ve.
The papers involves analyzing arguments oered by
Cliord and James, and assessing them for their plausibility
or truth. In giving an assessment it is not enough to express
your opinions, you must jus(fy your opinions by arguing for
them. Convince me that they are true.

Paper Structure
1. IntroducPon
2. Body of the Paper
3. Conclusion

Introductory Paragraph
In your introducPon, you need to do three things:
1. Briey introduce the issue to be explored. Avoid the vacuous! Do
not begin with empty sentences, "Philosophers have long ercely
debated whether we can know the external world." Get to the
point!
2. Indicate how you intend to proceed in your paper. For example:
"First, I shall explain Cliords posiPon on when it is right to
believe. Second, I will explicate and assess James criPcism of
Cliords posiPon. Third, I will show how these criPcisms do not
undermine Cliords central point. Your introducPon should
serve as a mini-outline of your paper.
3. Give a clear thesis statement indicaPng the posiPon for which you
intend to argue.

Body of the Paper

The body of your paper should develop your
analysis of the issue and present your
arguments for your posiPon, and it should
follow the mini-outline you have provided in
your introducPon. The body of your paper will
have two basic parts:
1. Analysis
2. ArgumentaPon

Body: Analysis
Following your introducPon you will need to give
a brief analysis of the views, arguments, or
posiPons that you have been asked to examine.
You should not summarize, but analyze the
structure of the authors posiPon and argument.
Explain to me how it tries to compel you to
believe it.
When giving Cliord and James view be fair to
each author even if you disagree with them.

Body: Argument
The second part of the body of the paper
should be spent developing an argument
supporPng James view or Cliords. This
argument should be your argument, i.e.,
independent of what Cliord and James says.
Here you can be creaPve, but your argument
must be raPonal, must be jusPed.

Conclusion
Here you simply need to very briey
summarize what you think you have shown.

General Advice
Relevance: Make sure all of the points you discuss are relevant to
the issue and to defending your posiPon. Ask of each sentence
does this advance the discussion or argumentaPon? If not, get rid
of it. Ask of each paragraph does it lead to the next paragraph?
(Reminder: each main point should have its own paragraph.)
Use simple language and be direct.
Avoid appeals to authority. Avoid the temptaPon of trying to solve
a philosophical problem by appealing to a supposed authority,
whether it is the Bible, the law, or Webster's dicPonary. Even
appeals to science should be avoided.
Avoid opinion or emoConal appeals. An emoPonal appeal is not an
argument. Dont tell your readers what you feel tell them what
you believe, and give good reasons to support what you believe.

Proper CitaPon PracPces

Avoid paraphraseplease explain ideas, theories, and arguments in
your own words. Avoid lengthy quotaPons.
If you quote from the reading, simply indicate author and page
number in parentheses following the quotaPon, e.g. (Cliord, p. 103).
You should not quote power-pointsplease explain ideas, theories,
and arguments in your own words.
You should quote to provide evidence for your analysis and
interpretaPon of Cliord and James. But quotes should be short direct
and relevant to the point you are making. Do not over-quote.
You should not consult outside materials to write your papers at all.
Instead, concentrate on reading the course materials carefully. Again,
do not use outside material to write this paper, period.

Plagiarism
Plagiarism = the anempt to present someone else's ideas or wriPng as
one's own. Examples:
1. Submiong someone else's paper or a professional arPcle for a
grade.
2. Copying phrases, sentences, or paragraphs from a book, arPcle,
or online source and incorporaPng them into ones paper without
quotaPon marks and proper anribuPon.
3. Using someone else's ideas or arguments (for example, by
paraphrasing) without anribuPng them to that person,
4. QuoPng from an arPcle without using quotaPon marks, even if
the arPcle as a whole is anributed to the author.
These cases vary in degree of seriousness and university penalPes
vary, but academic dishonesty of any form will be cause for failure and
will be reported.

Criteria for Grade

The general criteria to be used in grading your paper are
the following:
1. Is your reasoning clear and eecPvedoes your work
show strong skills in philosophical reasoning?
2. Does your work demonstrate a good understanding
of the posiPons, theories, and arguments discussed in
your paper?
3. Does your work display thoughrul treatment of the
issue you examine, and a careful defense or criPcism
of a posiPon on that issue?