In this type of paper, you have to explain a philosophical concept and support or oppose it with relevant thoughts and points. Say something like: Quotations should never be used as a substitute for your own explanation. Then you should come back to it and rewrite it. For some students, creating a title is easier after the paper is written. The doctor’s other option is to try a new and risky procedure that involves transplanting the heart of a genetically engineered chimpanzee into the patient. For instance, some philosophers use the word "person" to mean any being which is capable of rational thought and self-awareness. Don’t postpone your decision to order. There is no other matter of fact in the case. Try to figure out what reasonable position the philosopher could have had in mind, and direct your arguments against that. It is crucial to bear in mind that although your readers may have in-depth knowledge of philosophy, what they know may be different from your arguments. It can't consist in the mere report of your opinions, nor in a mere report of the opinions of the philosophers we discuss. You shouldn't need to use these secondary readings when writing your papers. If you're a teacher and you think your own students would find this web site useful, you are free to point them here (or to distribute printed copies). But I hope you'll all do better than that. Often, after you reconstruct an argument, you’ll be asked to tell whether it is a good or a bad argument and whether you agree or disagree with it. All he has told us is that if an action is wrong, the wrongness is a sentiment in the people considering the action rather than a property of the action itself. Be sure you understand the important terms, like “vicious.” (By “vicious,” Hume seems to mean “wicked, depraved, or immoral,” which probably isn’t the way you use the word in everyday speech.). If we examine a vicious action like murder, we see passions, motives, volitions, and thoughts. sIf necessary, motivate your thesis (i.e. Use your draft and the comments you received on it to construct a new outline, and write from that. (Caution: It won’t always be the first or the last sentence in the passage; it may not even be explicitly stated.) The following is a brief description of these sections. It's even more valuable to talk to each other about what you want to argue in your paper. Come up with answers to philosophical questions. After completing creating the outline, it is vital to write a draft paper for your essay. If you can't see anything the view has going for it, maybe that's because you don't have much experience thinking and arguing about the view, and so you haven't yet fully understood why the view's proponents are attracted to it. Examples of a thesis statement include: religious beliefs have effects on COVID-19, ethics are essential in contemporary society, and going to church cannot take you heaven. Some philosophical questions such as “what is morality?” requires that you present your answers with justification regarding the validity of your response. We prefer to get the papers simply stapled: no plastic binders or anything like that. Use your imagination. Note that usually, a thesis statement appears as the last sentence in the introductory paragraph, and it is also a roadmap map of what will be discussed in the rest of the paper. You can't make the structure of your paper obvious if you don't know what the structure of your paper is, or if your paper has no structure. When we examine our feelings about murder, we see a “sentiment of disapprobation.”. Visit the example on compare,” “contrast,” or “describe essay sample. Check whether they match with each other, or whether the question you have asked at the beginning is answered at the end. Hume considers an example, murder, and points out that when we consider why we say that murder is vicious, two things happen: Step 5: Identify unspoken assumptions. Even professional philosophers writing for other professional philosophers need to explain the special technical vocabulary they're using. Formulate the central problem or question you wish to address at the beginning of your paper, and keep it in mind at all times. Composing a philosophy essay is an essential step in studying philosophy. Have I thought about and discussed how the philosopher might respond to my objection? Check whether they match with each other, or whether the question you have asked at the beginning is answered at the end. Notice how much the paper improves with each revision: Also, don't begin with a sentence like "Webster's Dictionary defines a soul as..." Dictionaries aren't good philosophical authorities. Nevertheless, there are some obligatory things you should remember. Often you’ll be asked to consider how a philosopher might reply to objections. An excellent thesis must advance ideas that support or go against the argument. If you are in such a situation, don’t worry; contact Peach Essay writers for help. Thinking of objections and examining their consequences is a way that philosophers check to see if an argument is a good one. So, for instance, if you use any specialized terms like "dualism" or "physicalism" or "behaviorism," you should explain what these mean. Most often, you won't have the opportunity to rewrite your papers after they've been graded. Now, you should think about the structure of your future essay. explain Consider the conclusion and ask yourself what the author needs to do to prove it. Therefore, you are supposed to answer questions in your own words. At the very least, the process helps make us aware of our reasons for believing what we believe, and it enables us to use reason when we discuss our beliefs with other people. So perhaps Hume is right that we don’t see a property called “viciousness,” but wrong that “viciousness” is thus only a feeling in us. This page discusses common types of philosophy assignments and strategies and resources that will help you write your philosophy essays and research papers. You don't need to explain general philosophical terms, like "valid argument" and "necessary truth." Also, in the introductory paragraph, provide a roadmap showing how your thesis will progress. In general, it is very simple: Such a structure is suitable for any essay. Step 6: Sketch out a formal reconstruction of the argument as a series of steps. For example, maybe we call actions wrong because of their motives—because the actions are motivated by cruelty, for example. You can only correct these sorts of failings by rewriting your paper from scratch. Don't make your reader guess. Imagine that your instructor has given you this prompt: “Apply Hume’s views on the nature of vice to the following case: Mr. Smith has an advanced form of cancer. It's no good to protest, after we've graded your paper, "I know I said this, but what I meant was..." Say exactly what you mean, in the first place. But you shouldn't write this way. Does it matter that the patient is elderly? Students often feel that since it's clear to them that some claim is true, it does not need much argument. Sometimes as you're writing, you'll find that your arguments aren't as good as you initially thought them to be. Who should make such decisions—doctors, families, or patients? But if you write as if it were true, it will force you to explain any technical terms, to illustrate strange or obscure distinctions, and to be as explicit as possible when you summarize what some other philosopher said. Contrary to other papers, philosophical papers don’t require quotes. How to choose the right history essay topic? I strongly recommend that you make an outline of your paper, and of the arguments you'll be presenting, before you begin to write. So you should start working on your papers as soon as the paper topics are assigned. If you do have such difficulties, ask us to assist you. An excellent outline must include your main points for the introduction, crucial ideas for the body paragraphs, opposing ideas for the thesis statement, and the content of your conclusion. If your paper sounds as if it were written for a third-grade audience, then you've probably achieved the right sort of clarity. So you need to teach yourself to write a draft, scrutinize the draft, and revise and rewrite your paper before turning it in to be graded. The vice entirely escapes you, as long as you consider the object. Or perhaps those weaknesses will have affected our overall impression of the paper, and we just didn't offer any specific recommendation about fixing them. Philosophy papers usually involve both exposition and evaluation. Don't worry about using the verb "is" or "to be" too much. If you have some thoughts of your own, we can help you convert them into a properly written format. There will be plenty of time for that later on. This guide is tailored to suit contestants competing in the annual IPO essay contest but it uses many of the same strategies employed in guides written by renowned philosophy … Unless your professor has told you otherwise, you should probably use regular prose. Pretend that your reader has not read the material you're discussing, and has not given the topic much thought in advance. But make it clear to the reader that Organize your ideas so that the reader can proceed logically from premises to conclusion, step by step.