writing College Final Paper Proposal: Descartes’ Distinction between Mind and Body question
Modern Philosophy Durham College Final Paper Proposal (10%) Writing the plan of an argumentative paper/essay Modern Philosophy GNED 1128 Please, carefully read this document, BEFORE writing the proposal. Choose ONE of the seven questions (below) and write the final paper proposal according to the following instructions. 1) Which among Meditations 2-6 is, in your opinion, most important regarding Descartes’ plan presented in the first Meditation, and why do you consider it to be the most important one? 2) In which among the six Meditations does Descartes’ concept of “clarity and distinctness” play an important role, and why? 3) In your opinion, is Descartes’ distinction between mind and body in Meditation 6 based on clear and distinct premises (foundations)? Why yes or why not? 4) Both Descartes and Leibnitz believe that God should have created an imperfect universe. Whose arguments are more convincing, Descartes’ or Leibnitz’s, and why? 5) What objection, among those discussed by Leibnitz in his Theodicy is in your opinion the most significant one? And has Leibnitz successfully resolved it? Why yes or why not? 6) In Book 1, chapter 3 of his Essay Concerning Human Understanding, Locke argues against the claim that there are innate moral ideas/concepts. Which of his arguments, if any, do you find convincing and why? If you find none of Locke’s arguments convincing, you need to explain why you think so, while discussing at least two of his arguments. 7) Whom do you find to be more reasonable and why: Descartes’ thoughts regarding innate ideas or Locke’s reasoning about sensation (experience) and internal operations of the mind, presented in Book 2 of his Essay Concerning Human Understanding? On April 8, you will have to submit a paper (about 500-600 words) on the topic of your choice. In the proposal, you need to write in a point form a plan of what you will say in the paper. You need to present in the proposal at least two arguments to justify your position. You should present the strongest argument first. TWO EXAMPLES OF THE FINAL PAPER PROPOSAL Imagine that you could choose the question: Should women be free to perform abortion whenever they want? Here are two examples of how you could have written the final paper proposal. 1 Modern Philosophy Durham College Example 1 I believe that women should be free to perform abortion whenever they want. The reasons are as follows. (1) Women have been disadvantaged for centuries in man-ruled societies. It is about time women are free to make decisions about their lives, just like man are free to make decisions about theirs. (2) It is primarily the mother who is likely to suffer from the consequences of an unwanted pregnancy. Therefore, discontinuing pregnancy should be exclusively her choice. (3) I shall argue that even though a fetus is potentially a person, a woman is already a fully developed one, and therefore her rights outweigh the rights of the fetus. Example 2 I believe that women should not be allowed to perform abortion whenever they want. I offer the following arguments to justify my position. (1) A voluntary abortion does not exist in any other animal species, and human beings should not be an exception. (2) The fetus is a living being, and life is precious. (3) Nevertheless, I would allow abortion in extreme cases such as rape or pregnancy that might endanger the mother’s life. As far as this assignment is concerned, it does not matter whether you argue in favor or against the given claim. What matters is your ability to justify your position. You don’t need to use the wording from the above examples. Say everything your own way. Number the arguments but put them one after the other in a paragraph form. Example 2 would look as follows if you put it in a paragraph form: I believe that women should not be allowed to perform abortion whenever they want. I offer the following arguments to justify my position. (1) A voluntary abortion does not exist in any other animal species, and human beings should not be an exception. (2) The fetus is a living being, and life is precious. (3) Nevertheless, I would allow abortion in extreme cases such as rape or pregnancy that might endanger the mother’s life. This is the whole assignment. The proposal should be written as one paragraph. The first sentence should be your thesis. The remaining sentences should be they arguments that justify your thesis. Nothing else. Each argument should be written in no more than one or two sentences. Your main goal is to demonstrate your ability of logical (common sense) thinking. Obviously, a proper understanding of the relevant course material is a must. Therefore, make sure that you properly understand the ideas discussed in the Readings and PP presentations. You may not use external sources of any kind, e.g., websites, books, or articles. You are allowed to use only the course material, namely, the Readings and PP presentations posted on DC Connect. Do not use quotations. Say everything in your own words. 2 Modern Philosophy Durham College References: if you need to reference the readings or PPs, please do so in the following way. To reference, for example, an idea from the very end of Meditation 1, write in brackets (Descartes, Meditation 1, p. 1-8) To reference a PP slide about what the meditator knows by the end of Meditation 2, write in brackets (Week 3, slide 28). Due date: March 14 (and not March 11). You will be able to submit the assignment between March 15 and 17 with a 10% deduction for each day of lateness. To submit the proposal, click Activities, then click Final Paper Proposal. Avoiding plagiarism: Typical acts of plagiarism include presenting ideas of someone else as your own. Never copy and paste any text to your work. Please, carefully read the documents about avoiding plagiarism, posted on DC Connect. If you are not sure what counts as an act of plagiarism, do not hesitate to ask me. Two Important Notes I will write comments on your proposal to help you to do a better job on the paper itself. Please keep in mind that, unless I will suggest otherwise in my comments, the paper (due on April 8 8) needs to be written on the same topic as the proposal. If you do not submit the proposal (worth 10%), there will be a 30% deduction on the paper itself (worth 25%). Marking Rubric: Proper understanding of the relevant course material is a must. A misunderstanding of the basic claims of the given philosopher is likely to result in a point deduction. Proper grammar and proofreading are expected. Significant grammar mistakes and lack of proofreading may result in a point deduction. Up to 30%: Proper form Up to 50%: Logical thinking (the arguments justify the thesis) Up to 20%: Imaginative/original thinking (making interesting connections within the course material and beyond; providing interesting examples) Up to 20%: Clarity of exposition (use of clear words and sentences) Up to 30%: Unforeseen strengths As you can see, the marking rubric adds up to more than 100%. The goal is to reward students for their relative strengths. 3
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