(AUK; Philo-101; 25% of the course grade)

You will choose ONE of the following three topics for your paper. The topics below suggest only the basic general questions that you’d need to address in the paper, and you should make it more specific.

1. Skepticism. Compare and contrast the skeptical arguments of Descartes (in Meditations 1 & 2) and Al-Ghazali in the handout excerpt. Which assumption about requirements of knowledge both take as obviously true? How many parallel arguments you can find? How strong are these arguments? How do these two philosophers resolve the skeptical problem (i.e., do they accept skepticism at the end or do they discover certainty)? What is the main difference between Descartes’ and Al-Ghazali’s solution?
2. Ethics of Belief. Compare and contrast the positions of W. Clifford and William James on the question when can and should we accept something as true. Why does Clifford think that it is always wrong to accept something on insufficient evidence? What does he mean by ‘sufficient evidence’? How come James argues that sometimes it is permissible to accept a belief on non-intellectual, ‘passional’ grounds? What exactly does James say about the religious beliefs?
3. Freedom of Will – Chisholm’s libertarianism. If you choose this topic you will be examining closely Chisholm’s argument in support of libertarianism and his objections to Hard Determinism and Compatibilism. What is the basic structure of Chisholm’s reasoning? What does he mean when he says that a free agent has a Prerogative “which some attribute only to God”? Do you find his interpretation convincing? Why?

Format Requirements: The paper should be 4 to 5 pages long (min. 1300 words), typed, double-spaced, with a 1-inch margin all around. It is suggested that you use Times New Roman font, size 12, or a similar font. All quotations (if any) should be properly documented, preferably as a footnote, indicating the title of the book, author(s), edition, and the page number.

Content Requirements: Always start by clarifying/defining your main terms and concepts – don’t just assume that the professor knows what, say, Libertarianism is: write your paper in such a way that it would make sense even to someone not familiar with any philosophy. All three topics require textual analysis – i.e., carefully reading and analyzing the textual material. There is no obligation to bring additional sources besides the ones we used in class. However, if you do, you are encouraged to use the ‘real’ books and articles as your sources – the use of internet sources is frowned upon.

All papers are due in class as a hard copy and as an email attachment (azavaliy@auk.edu.kw). If either a hard copy version or an electronic version of the paper is missing, it is not counted as submitted until all requirements are fulfilled.

Note on Plagiarism: Students assume full responsibility for the content and integrity of the academic work they submit. The guiding principle of academic integrity shall be that a student’s submitted work, examinations, and projects must be that of the student’s own work. Anyone caught citing a work without proper reference will be immediately given a failing grade for the course.

The preferred due date is WEDNESDAY, MAY 27th (in class)

Students who hand in their papers on that date or before are guaranteed to see their papers again with my comments and a grade on the day of the Final Exam. The papers that will be submitted after that date will not be penalized, but your papers probably will not be returned.
REMEMBER: The VERY LAST chance to hand in your paper will be on the day of the Final Exam. Absolutely no papers will be accepted after the Final Exam.
Writing Argumentative Essays

An argumentative essay generally has four components:
1. A Statement of issue (what is the topic you are planning to discuss)
2. A Statement of your position on that issue (what is the thesis you are planning to defend)
3. Arguments that support your position
4. Rebuttals of objections or arguments that support contrary position
Common Mistakes to Avoid
1. The Windy Preamble. Writers of this type of essay avoid getting to the issue and instead go on at length with introductory remarks, often about how important the issue is, how it troubled thinkers for centuries, how opinions on this issue are many and various, and so on.
2. The Stream-of-Consciousness Ramble. This type of essay results when writers make no attempt to organize their thoughts and simply spew them out in the order in which they come to mind.
3. The Knee-Jerk Reaction. In this type of essay, writers record their first reaction to an issue without considering the issue in any depth or detail. It always shows.
On Language
Don’t forget these rules of good style:
1. Avoid clichés like a plague.
2. Be more or less specific.
3. NEVER generalize.
4. The passive voice is to be avoided.
5. Never, ever be redundant.
6. Exaggeration is a billion times worse than understatement.
7. Make sure verbs agrees with their subject.
8. Why use rhetorical questions?
9. Parenthetical remarks (however relevant) are (usually) unnecessary.
10. Proofread carefully to see if you any words out.
And it’s usually a bad idea to star

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