Politicians write about ethical issues, psychologists write about the mind and brain, mathematicians write about infinity, and theologians write about God. So what makes a paper on any of these topics a philosophy paper? A philosophy paper presents a reasoned defense of some thesis. So a philosophy paper typically does at least one of the following:
In advancing a position on something like the death penalty, a philosopher may need to discuss certain facts (like the racial make-up of the death row population, or the cost of life imprisonment versus execution). However, philosophy papers are not primarily factual reports or research papers. Similarly, philosophy papers are not primarily summaries of other people's views, nor are they mere statements of opinion. Central to philosophy is the idea of an argument. Arguments consist of a conclusion and reasons offered in support of the conclusion. The reasons offered to support a conclusion are called 'premises'. Typically, philosophy papers have a central argument. They often have subsidiary arguments as well. So, a paper arguing against the death penalty, as it is currently instituted, might have the following structure:
In fact, the central argument of a philosophy paper is typically more complex than this, but the above gives us a starting point. If this were the central argument of the paper, the author would then be expected to support each premise. The conclusion simply follows from the premises, so the bulk of the paper would be devoted to supporting the premises. In defending premise 1, some appeal to facts would be made. Additionally, the author would need to determine what constitutes racial discrimination, and what does not. In defending premise 2, further subarguments would be needed. For instance, you would need to discuss what constitutes immorality. Philosophy Research Paper Writing | Getting StartedIf you do not have an assigned paper topic, then you'll need to start by picking a topic. It's probably best to pick a topic that at first seems too narrow. For example, the topic of whether God exists is way too broad. A more appropriate topic might be whether one particular argument for God's existence is successful or not. A paper might even focus on a narrower topic, such as whether one objection to one argument for God's existence is satisfactory. Picking such a narrow topic might strike you as boring at first. But many philosophy assignments call for relatively short papers, and it's better to make one small point thoroughly and convincingly than it is to cover a lot of ground. After you've picked your topic, you may want to try setting aside some time to figure out what you think about the issue. And you may find it helpful to make an outline which reflects the structure of your argument. On the other hand, you may find that your view emerges or changes quite a lot as you write. For this reason, it's a good idea to leave yourself plenty of time for rewrites. A second draft is likely to be hugely better than a first draft, and a third draft better than the second. Philosophy Research Paper Writing | Writing The Paper Introductions Structure Also, use of words like "therefore," "thus," "because," "since" indicates which of your claims are conclusions and which are being made in support of conclusions. If you find yourself using phrases like "before addressing X, I will discuss Y…" more than a couple of times, you may want to consider an alternative organizational strategy. Finally, think about the contribution each paragraph is making toward your overall point. If a paragraph isn't contributing, it shouldn't be there. If it contains some point you really want to make, even though the point doesn't contribute to your main thesis, try putting the point in a footnote. Once you know what role each paragraph plays in your paper, think about how and whether each sentence contributes to the paragraph of which it is a part. Finally, look at the word choices you've made. Have you picked the best words to convey your meaning? Word Choice and Tone Finally, be sure you understand how the philosophers you are writing about are using important terms. For example, if you are writing about Plato's view of Justice, you should not assume he is using the word in the same way it gets used in Law & Order. Avoid Redundancy Be charitable Using Sources One Final Tip Philosophy Research Paper Writing |
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