Writing Essays in Philosophy: Guidelines and Strategies, Study notes of Philosophy

Download Writing Essays in Philosophy: Guidelines and Strategies and more Study notes Philosophy in PDF only on Docsity! 1 UCD School of Philosophy I. General Guidelines for Writing Essays in Philosophy 1. Answer the question If the assigned essay title is in the form of a question, your essay must answer the question. Here is a useful strategy for many philosophical essays: before you begin your essay, write down ‘Therefore…’ and complete the sentence as what will be the final sentence of your essay. This will be the thesis you are defending. (Note: some essay titles may require more exposition and interpretation rather than arguing for a thesis of your own; but even in these cases it is always a good idea to have a clear focus for your essay, for example, an aspect of the topic you will critically examine.) Suppose the essay title is: “Is Sartre’s conception of freedom defensible?” What is your hunch? Perhaps you think that it is not defensible. Your essay might end: “Therefore Sartre’s conception of freedom, all things considered, is not defensible.” That is your thesis. Your whole essay is an extended argument for that conclusion. At the beginning of your essay you should avoid vague generalities in introducing the topic and get to the main issue as soon as you can. Here is a very weak opening paragraph (partly plagiarised from Wikipedia for good measure): “Throughout the course of this essay I will consider the question of whether Sartre’s conception of freedom is defensible. Ever since the dawn of time, people have been fascinated by the question of freedom. Jean Paul Sartre was a French existentialist philosopher, playwright, novelist, and, political activist, who was no exception. He was one of the leading figures in existentialism and Marxism and was also noted for his long relationship with the feminist author, Simone de Beauvoir. He had a conception of freedom that was particularly interesting and influential in existentialist circles. Some philosophers have agreed with it and others disagreed. In my essay I will examine some arguments on both. In my opinion Sartre’s account is defensible but there are good arguments against it.” In general, biographical and historical information does not belong in a philosophy essay at all. Nor does purple prose ("since the dawn of time"). Nor do vacuous phrases (“ He had a conception of freedom that was particularly interesting”). Here is a much better opening paragraph (whatever you think of the actual philosophical claim being defended): “Sartre defended a conception of freedom according to which a person’s choice as to what sort of person they are is radically free in the sense of not even being determined by reasons. I will argue that such radical ‘choices’ are not best thought of as exercises of free agency but can only be understood as the agent lurching one way or the other. I will argue that the only defensible notion of freedom must respect Kant’s conception of free agency as involving sensitivity to reason, and that Sartre’s does not.” (Note that in Philosophy essays it is usually perfectly acceptable to use the first person pronoun, “I”.) Even if your essay is largely expository (e.g., if the essay title was: ‘What is Sartre’s conception of freedom?’), you should still have a thesis: a particular slant, or focus or strategy. For example, “In this essay I shall highlight the influence of Heidegger’s thinking in Sartre’s analysis.” Of course, your thesis could be purely destructive: "In this essay I will argue that the concept of freedom as invoked by Sartre is ultimately incoherent" or "I will argue that the philosophical problem was misunderstood by Sartre, and that therefore there is no need for his 'solution'." Philosophical essays of all kinds consist largely in providing reasons for believing your thesis or interpretation to be true. You will find arguments in primary sources, secondary sources, the lectures, and in your own reflections. Even if your essay is largely expository (explaining a philosopher’s view, for instance), you will still be presenting evidence—analysing passages, for instance—for your particular interpretations. Here is another useful strategy for good philosophical essay writing: whenever your essay makes a claim, reflect on how an opponent might object to that claim. So one chunk might comprise a detailed objection to 2 Sartre’s view; but the next chunk could begin "Sartre might respond to this by saying…". And then you can respond to the response. It's your essay, you still get the last word.) A clear central example may help to focus the essay. Sartre himself offers a number of examples that you can pick up on, or you can take one from literature or history, or make one up. You should obviously not spend too much time discussing the details of the example unless those details are relevant to the philosophical point you want to make. Remember the importance of not making your opponent look like a fool. This is sometimes called the 'Straw Man fallacy: if you build Sartre's position out of straw, then you will not get many points for blowing him away. Instead, you should make his position look as strong and plausible as possible before you begin to attack it. Finally, you should remember that you are usually not writing for the lecturer but for a relatively naive reader: someone who needs to have the issue explained to them and then to be persuaded of your answer. As a general rule, you should err on the side of explaining more rather than less, especially central concepts and technical terms. Even an ordinary word like 'freedom', when used by Sartre, becomes a technical term, one that might have more than one plausible interpretation – so you should tell us how you are taking it in this essay. But try to use ordinary language and avoid fancy jargon, unless it really does make expression more efficient. 2 Tips and strategies for writing a good paper A good philosophy essay simply cannot be dashed off in a single sitting, the night before the deadline. You need to start your essay early, and give yourself multiple sittings at it. If you suffer from writer’s block (which most people do to some extent), dash something off quickly and then when you read it over you’ll have a much better sense of what you really want to be writing. The second draft will be much easier to write. To get the structure of argument right, you may have to write several drafts of the essay. Philosophy essays are not a matter of gathering information from various sources and stuffing them into a small space. Remember you are being assessed on how clearly and effectively you can defend a line of thought that answers the question precisely. The grading criteria for philosophy essays usually include the following: Organisation and Argument Try to order the expression of your thoughts in such a way that they build upon what comes before and support what comes after so that nothing irrelevant to the matter at hand remains to interrupt the flow. Ensure that it is always clear to the reader just what the current point is and how it relates to what you’ve done and are about to do. Try to satisfy yourself that you have succeeded in showing that everyone ought to believe what you in fact do believe (and where you do not feel satisfied, say so, and try to indicate why). To accomplish this, always establish your points by providing good reasons—the most relevant and persuasive ones you can think of, structured as rigorously and incisively as you can—in support of your views. Precision and accuracy In order to be precise, you have to look at the words you are using and ask yourself: what they mean in this context exactly. For example, in the Sartre question considered above, what does “freedom” mean? If there is ambiguity, spell it out, and then tell us which meaning you are using. You have to look at the argument you are using: is there a hidden premise that needs to be spelled out? Is there a condition that might limit its application? Furthermore, never use any word (even a quite ordinary one) unless you are confident that you know what it means (if in doubt, look it up in a dictionary). Your interpretation of texts must be accurate and sensitive to the primary source. It is never sufficient to rely on a secondary source’s interpretation. Be sure that you know and render the precise claim or argument or view that a philosopher intends or is committed to before you go on to evaluate it.