Paper prompts Do either one but not both

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1 Papers

2 Paper prompts Do either one but not both The myth of Sisyphus appears frequently in the meaning of life literature. How have various authors used this myth to present arguments regarding questions of the meaningfulness of life? Considering these arguments, can we view Sisyphus s life as meaningful? OR. According to Iddo Landau, questioning the meaning of life is a relatively recent phenomenon. He argues this is caused by historical developments over the last few centuries that raise questions of non-importance and non-understanding. What are these developments, and do they in fact provide a less satisfactory basis for meaningful lives? Feel free to draw on the distinction between meaning of life and meaning in life and on the views of other authors we have discussed so far.

3 Argumentative Essays Goal: to establish and defend a position (thesis) on the topic through a series of interconnected logical arguments. Essential ingredients: Thesis statement (1 st paragraph) Roadmap (1 st paragraph) Series of arguments establishing thesis Conclusion that amplifies thesis in light of arguments Harvard Guide to Writing a Philosophy paper on class website and Resource:

4 Paragraphs & logical structure Each paragraph must present an argument. An argument proceeds from premises to conclusion via logical steps. E.g., IF A, then B. A Therefore, B (modus ponens) E..g, If A, then B. Not B. Therefore, not A (modus tollens) Resource

5 Paper structure 1 st paragraph - brief introduction of problem - thesis statement: distinguish a statement from an intention. -roadmap Subsequent paragraphs - Topic sentence - Argument - Conclusion and transition to next argument (paragraph)

6 Thesis: details and echo prompt Example prompt [not for current paper]: does moral situationism undermine virtue ethics? In this paper, I argue that situationism doesn t undermine Aristotle s virtue ethics on the grounds that what constitutes as morally significant factors and behavior is illdefined and that a morally weak population in no way challenges virtue theory. Make sure your thesis statement echoes the prompt (incorporate prompt language) and answers it

7 Roadmap: be specific Describe in concrete language the steps you ll take to defend your thesis. First, I will argue that, Second, I will show why.. I discuss the implications of experiments for virtue ethics vs. [this is seen in science a lot] In the second part, I present a refutation of situationism s argument that character traits are an illusion by showing how much of the behavior that is easily manipulated is morally irrelevant

8 Real example In the first section of this note, I review the second (normative) claim and briefly present an objection to it that has been raised by Selim Berker.5 In the second section, I briefly review some criticisms that have been made of the view that deontological responses in fmri studies are responses to a morally irrelevant personal factor. I also suggest that greater involvement of emotion centers in the brain may not align with the presence of this personal factor. In the third section, I first consider what a consequentialist response to experimental cases would be and argue that the data on turning the trolley do not necessarily reveal consequentialist responses (or cognitive processing associated with them) but are consistent with a form of nonconsequentialist response involving a prerogative to promote the greater good. I also suggest new experiments that would help make clear whether people's responses are consequentialist. In the remaining parts of the section, I raise new doubts about the possibility of deriving normative conclusions from neuroscientific data by considering what we would think if we were confronted with certain hypothetical experimental data. Kaam, Neuroscience and Moral Reasoning: A Note on Recent Research

9 Characterize position with attributions Situationism, in the simplest terms, is the belief that behavior (especially behavior we judge to be of some moral value) is determined by external conditions rather than solely or mainly depending on someone s moral virtue. Gilbert Harman (1999) endorses the description of situationism made by Flanagan (1991) (Harman, 319). According to this description, situationism is the belief that good behavior is not the result of good character. It is the result of a certain kind of dominating environment. Take away the powerful external props, and what seems to be a consistently good character will evaporate into thin air. John Sabini and Maury Silver (2005) offer a stricter definition. They suggest situationism is the belief that morally significant behavior is affected by features of the immediate situation which: 1. are not in themselves of moral significance; 2. are not, prima facie, of great motivational significance; 3. are not well know either to lay people or to the philosophical literature; 4. are numerous; and 5. do not form a coherent class from the point of view of folk psychology (Sabini and Silver, 545).

10 Engage the texts It is not necessary to quote at length from the texts, but your arguments should engage them state specific arguments and positions. Think of the authors as characters you are interacting with

11 Style Use first person ( I ) Writing is re-writing. Use short, concise sentences. De-Ramble: Check for strings of phrases held together by conjunctions.

12 Strawman always, solely, completely, never Perfect consistency Exceptionless -citing textual support for attribution of views helps avoid this - principle of charity critique a robust, charitable interpretation of a view

13 Topic sentence: paragraph as essay Situationism relies heavily on Milgram s experiment, the Good Samaritan experiment, and the Stanford Prison experiment as empirical evidence that humans moral choices are easily manipulated by environmental and morally insignificant factors, but it fails to clarify what constitutes as morally insignificant and thus interpreting the experiments as proof of situationism is a fundamental error. -this is a thesis statement for this element of the paper. -it categorizes the experiments together to extract a general conclusion Transitions and meta-narrative ( now that I have examined, I will next

14 Details illustrate scholarship and lend credibility Both the paper by Harman and the paper by Sabini and Silver refer to studies that measure the correlation between instances of some morally- or trait- relevant behavior. Harman refers to a paper done by Ross and Nisbett that reports that such correlations are about on average (Harman, 326). Sabini and Silver refer to a study by Hartshorne and May that finds there is a low correlation, and to the book by Mischel that finds such correlations are usually 0.2. Sabini and Silver argue that 0.2 is a high enough correlation to accept that people have virtues

15 Anticipate counter-arguments And defuse them

16 Misc. 1. innate 2. in order to = to 3. prove 4. subject (long phrase) verb 5. first paragraph not the place for lengthy reviews pitch your thesis (the hook). Avoid very general language, e.g., Since the dawn of humankind, humans have probed their place in the cosmos 6. serial vs. integrative discussion - higher order organizing principles