Philosophy

Over the new few weeks, we will be reading and talking about morals, ethics, and values. For this essay, you will be choosing a social/ethical/moral value that is brought up in an assigned text (see below)(i.e. truth from Plato’s “The Cave”) and thoroughly investigating it.  To do so, you will need to clearly explain how the author represents the value and also define the value for yourself.  Some things you must also address are 1) what would happen if the value were raised to the universal?  (i.e. if everyone were always truthful what would happen? Would society crumble?) 2) Is the value an absolute value or a situational value? (You will want to look ahead to the essay by Appiah to help you consider these questions.) 3) what do you think about this value personally? 4) how does this value apply to society? 5) what are the problems with this value? Be sure that you address the perspective of at least one other author from our assigned readings in our textbook. (For instance, how would Appiah’s work apply to the truth.)  As with all papers for this class, this essay must be 5-6 pages in length, double-spaced, and in MLA format. Papers not submitted in MLA format will be considered plagiarized. Hint: Plato is the author, not Jacobus, and the other editors; be sure this is reflected in the citations. Please submit your papers as RTF documents.  Directions for how to submit as it can be found in essay assignment one.   While I have listed all of the weekly readings in the weekly overviews, I realized that for this first essay assignment, it might be useful for you to have a comprehensive list of readings for the class so that you know what essays you might choose to work from.  I am cutting and pasting the list below. Please let me know if you have any questions. The following is a list of readings you may choose from: Handout: Momaday, “Man-Made of Words Langer, “Language” Rosseau, “The Origin…” Thoreau, “Civil Disobedience” Nietzsche, “Morality as…” Appiah, “The Case ….” Machiavelli, “The Qualities…” Marx, “The Communist Manifesto” Tocqueville, “Government by Democracy” Douglass, “from Narrative …”   Note: DO NOT use “language” as a value. Language is something that is useful, that we do place value on; however, it is not a value in the same sense as assigned. Think more in terms of characteristics we strive to embody, things like compassion, generosity, kindness, etc…

A subjective claim that people might call “a fact”, An objective claim that people might call “an opinion”, What is the difference between a claim that is “objective” and a claim that is “subjective?”, Explain how mislabeling these claims could negatively impact the quality of a person’s thinking. You might try thinking of claims you could hear in a hospital or another work-related environment. If a person has confused objective with subjective or fact with opinion, what is the solution? In addition to your initial post, post two substantive peer responses that demonstrate how you connect to their explanations. Provide thoughts, insight, and analysis of their answers. Your response should extend the dialogue.

Due:                Friday, August 28 by 11:59 p.m. (submit an electronic version of your response, as either a PDF or a Word document, on Blackboard) Format:           no more than 1 page, single-spaced, 12 point Times New Roman font, 1-inch margins (papers over one page will not be graded); header must include: your name, the date, the course code Worth:             2% of final grade   Answer the following question:   Siddartha Gautama, the Buddha, had to leave home to reach enlightenment.  Do you think it’s necessary for a person to leave home to transform their perspective and grow?  Explain briefly why or why not.   Students are required to use gender-neutral language.  For instance, use “human” and “humankind” instead of “man” and “mankind,” and, when appropriate, “she” over “he.”   The purpose of these Reflection Responses is to encourage students to start thinking independently thought, to stay involved with the course, and to keep on top of the readings.     Responses will be graded as Pass or Fail. A passing grade will show independent thought, that the student has read the text, and that they have applied themself.  Incomplete and incoherent responses will fail.  A pass is worth 2% of the student’s final grade; a fail, 0%.

Should I respect the point of view of a misogynist – a person who dislikes, despises, or is strongly prejudiced against women?

– 1500 words, Word limit may only be 10% over or under the specified number to fall within the requirements of the task. – Students must not use non-academic sources. An academic source is a peer-reviewed piece of writing, written by an expert in the fiel

Should abortion be legalized?

Directions: Write a two-page paper identifying your personal leadership philosophy based on your new perspective of leadership from theories, textbook/article/videos, and other influencers that you have learned throughout the course that may have changed or expanded your draft personal leadership philosophy from week one.

Write a 2-4 page essay (in Word or Rich Text Format, double spaced, size 12 font) on one of the following topics. (Cite all sources you use to avoid plagiarism). Use the text as your primary source and at least one academic secondary source. 1.) Explain Descartes’ Method of doubt; what does he hope to accomplish from this method; is Descartes a sceptic? 2.)What is the significance of Descartes’ Cogito argument? How does it relate to the “evil demon” and dreaming doubt arguments? 3.) Does Descartes believe in God? If so discuss his argument(s) for the existence of God. Are they convincing? Why or why not? If you don’t think that Descartes actually believes in God defend your position. 4.) Discuss the so-called “Cartesian Circle”; (a good source for this discussion are the articles on Descartes at the Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy; is Descartes guilty of begging the question or arguing in a circle in his discussion of God as the guarantor of clear and distinct ideas and his clear and distinct idea of God? 5.) Explain the relationship between satyagraha and swaraj for Gandhi. How does his concept of non-violent resistance relate to his beliefs about God and punishment? 6.)How widely and to what effect has Gandhi’s non-violent resistance been employed in political struggles? what are some of its advantages and disadvantages? 7.) Explain Gandhi’s contention that external independence (swaraj) depends upon internal swaraj. Do you think his reasoning is correct? why or why not? 8.) Compare and contrast Gandhi and Plato on the issue of appearance and reality. (Cite all sources you use to avoid plagiarism) Cite all sources with quotation marks for direct quotes and parenthetical references. Don’t place URLs in the body of your paper; cite online sources by author’s name or article title. Place urls at the end of the paper in the work cited page. Every student is encouraged to submit drafts of papers to Upswing under the tutoring tab for assistance with composition and proofreading.

You should set out a draft outline of your proposed research, arranged under the following six headings: Title/Topic; Research questions and focus; Background to the proposal; Research methods to be used; Timetable; Short bibliography. The recommended length of the outline is two pages of A4 size, in single-spaced type Topic: The institutionalization of democracy in post-conflict situations case study of the Republic of South Sudan Referencing style is not mentioned can use the application used in the UK

1. In Descartes’ First Meditation, why does he set about doubting all of his knowledge? What is he hoping to achieve?  2. In the First Meditation, Descartes provides two skeptical arguments. What are they, and what kind of knowledge claims does each argument call into question? 3. In the Second Meditation, Descartes argues that we can be certain of one thing. What does he claim we can know with certainty, and what is the reason he gives? Do you agree that we can know this with certainty? 4. In the Second Meditation, Descartes introduces the wax analogy. Explain the significance of the wax example. What was the purpose in Descartes’ example? 5. In the Third Meditation, Descartes talks about three sources of ideas: innate, adventitious, and self-created. Explain what these ideas are. How does Descartes relate the idea of an idea’s source with the idea of God? Where does Descartes claim the idea of God comes from?