Overview
At the end of Module Seven, you will submit a critical thinking and argumentation essay on a specific topic as your final project. Milestones have been set up for you in the course to help manage your time to complete this project. Refer back to the Course Introduction and your Module One and Two overviews for guidance in approaching your topic. Three Simple Steps 1. Select one of the topics below as the focus of your essay. Use the Shapiro Library and the course resources to assist you in exploring your topic: ? In Crito, Socrates gives three arguments for remaining in jail and allowing Athens to put him to death. One of the arguments is based on what later became known as social contract theory. Analyze Socrates’ use of social contract theory and compare and contrast it with the versions of one of the following writers: Rousseau, Hobbes, or Locke. ? One of the major intellectual objections to belief in God in the Western tradition is the problem of evil. After discussing how the problem of evil arises and what it consists of, explain a defense against the problems of moral and natural evil as presented by a writer of your choice, and present and defend your position on the issue. ? Is there such a thing as a “soul”? Is it something different from the brain? Does it survive after our physical death? Show the relationship between these three questions and address each of them, reaching an answer to each of them that you defend in your essay. ? Do we have free will, or is everything we do traceable to a complex series of causes and effects over which we have no control? In your essay, show how the problem arises, discuss the three major theories about free will, and support one of them with your own argument. ? Can we know anything for sure about the world around us? Write an essay in which you show how this question arises and in which you present and defend your position based on the work of at least two writers. ? Why should we be moral? Write an essay in which you show why this question makes sense, and provide at least one answer. You must provide an argument showing why your position is correct and defend it against at least two criticisms. 2. Post a brief overview of your topic in the Topic Choice Posting workshop topic in Module Three. Approach your topic from a single angle so that you begin with a precise, focused argument. The more specific your thesis statement, the easier it will be for you to avoid generalizations and produce an insightful analysis. As you develop your analysis, think about how the answers to these questions are representative of the bigger picture you will paint in your introduction and conclusion. Your citations should use at least three major philosophers’ beliefs/arguments to support your argument or serve as evidence for the counterargument.
Clarity is extremely important. Clear, logical, organized writing helps your reader understand your meaning. Avoid inflated diction and using “to be” and passive verbs. You will strategically organize your paper to put together a highly effective response to your topic and present the following: Title: A title alerts your reader to what you will be addressing and should therefore be both descriptive and specific. A Compelling Introduction: This introduction will identify the topic, clearly outlining the structure of the argument and the counterargument, define key terms, and clearly state the thesis. 1. Hook: Your first sentence is designed to “hook” your reader, inducing him or her to continue reading. Yet while you should introduce your material in a general way before moving to a specific thesis, avoid overwhelming generalizations such as “Throughout history…” or “Since the beginning of time…” And while the hook should perhaps be the most general sentence in your essay, it should still be directly related to your essay’s topic. 2. Context: The bulk of your introduction should provide context for your reader. This is the appropriate place to include summary. But it is a careful balancing act—you will likely need to reread and revise your introduction multiple times to strike the right balance of summary: not too much, and not too little. Provide the essential information so your reader can follow your train of thought, without including irrelevant details. Topics for summary may include: o Philosophers and works you are analyzing (directly relevant to your thesis; others can be addressed as examples within the body) o Historical context (only include details relevant to your thesis) o Ideas that provide the foundation for understanding your thesis 3. Thesis: The thesis should be located at the end of the introduction. The thesis statement specifies what will be argued in the paper. Therefore, it should contain a subject (what is my topic?), argument (what am I claiming?), and why/how (what is my reasoning?). Consider the thesis statement a contract between the writer and the reader, and make sure that the rest of the essay upholds the thesis statement’s proposed argument. The thesis statement
establishes the tone for the essay; therefore, it should use specific and active language and avoid clichés, questions, and overgeneralizations. It is the most important and thus should arguably be the best written sentence in the entire essay An Organized Body: Follow through on developing your thesis in the body of your paper. Ensure that you use effective transitions for every component of your argument as well as your counterargument. The body of your paper should flow logically, arguing the thesis from your introduction with highly effective examples reflecting insights from your own critical thinking process, not summarizing. The examples and facts from the philosophers and works you have examined will support your thesis, and the significance of each insight your critical thinking process reveals will be fully explained. The body will also include at least three scholarly sources and respond to each source in the form of highly relevant quotations and concise paraphrasing. ? Body Paragraph: Remember to put your paragraphs in a logical order in the paper as a whole. ? Transitions: Provide a sentence at the end of one paragraph and/or at the beginning of another paragraph indicating how one idea is connected to the next. A transition may be implied if the logic is clear enough. A Powerful Conclusion: This is where you pull it all together. Your conclusion will not only effectively restate your thesis, but it will pull all your claims together. Your conclusion should clearly relate how the issue represented by the thesis is important and what bigger question it raises, and identify possibilities and implications for applying philosophical inquiry to everyday situations. Remind your reader what you have set out to prove and how you have done it (without using the exact same words, of course). In other words, take the first few sentences of your conclusion to review your most important points. This is actually a rather straightforward process: Review your topic sentences, which should specify your main arguments, and reiterate their main ideas for the reader. Finally, move beyond summary to your “big idea.” Conclude something about your argument (Ask yourself, “What has my essay revealed about the topic?” or “Why has it been worth talking about?”). It is certainly a challenging process to think up an abstract, meaningful, and impressive idea to conclude your essay with. Let it “simmer” for a while. Think about your essay while you go about your day, driving, exercising, cooking, showering, and so on. You might just have an “aha!” moment of insight when you least expect it. If you save your conclusion until right before the paper is due, it is less likely you will be able to think of a perceptive idea with which to conclude your essay.