Mechanical Details

A paper proposal (2-3 pages) is due Monday, November 10. This should indicate the thesis you hope to defend, outline your main arguments, and indicate what sources you will mainly rely on.

The paper is due at the final exam (Thursday, December 11, at 6:30 PM).

The paper should be typed, double-spaced, with one-inch margins, a reasonable font (e.g. Times) and a reasonable point size (e.g. 12 point). (Actually, I’d prefer an electronic copy to a hard copy – you can attach the paper to an email message.)

The paper should be 10-15 pages in length. (In the ballpark of 3300 - 5000 words.)

Requirements

1. Thesis. The paper should have a thesis or main point. There are three main possibilities here. (a) interpretive essay: the thesis might concern the interpretation of one of the thinkers we have studied. (b) comparative essay: the thesis might concern the relation between two or more thinkers on a particular point. (c) evaluative essay: the thesis might provide an evaluation of one or more of the theses or arguments employed in our readings. These three categories are not mutually exclusive. In all likelihood, the paper will involve both interpretation and evaluation to some degree: one way of defending an interpretation of a philosopher’s argument is to argue that it is less vulnerable to criticism than alternative interpretations; conversely, criticisms of a philosopher’s arguments are of little interest unless you show that your interpretation of the argument you are criticizing is plausible.

2. Argument. Your paper needs to be more than an autobiographical account of your experience in reading the material. You need to offer reasons for your position or against the one you are attacking. One very good strategy students often do not use enough is to think of possible objections to your view and respond to them. In addition, if you are criticizing someone else’s work, it is a very good idea to discuss how you think the writer would defend his or her position against your criticisms. This helps to deepen your argument. Contrary to what some students fear, it also makes your argument more persuasive. People sometimes worry that raising objections to their own view, or supplying responses an opponent might make, just needlessly makes trouble for their thesis. But a sophisticated reader will be thinking of objections to your view while reading your paper; such a reader will be helped if you show how you would deal with these objections. (It may also help to keep in mind that the goal of these papers is to work out a position as carefully and completely as you can; it is more a search for the truth than an attempt to persuade. The more objections you consider and respond to, and the more fair you are to your opposition, the more cogent and thoughtful your own view is likely to be.)

3. Clarity. This is vitally important: you need to write carefully and organize your paper very explicitly. If necessary, you should ruthlessly sacrifice elegance of style in favor of glaringly obvious signposting: for example, "Berkeley's second criticism of the primary-secondary quality distinction is that ideas of primary qualities cannot resemble qualities of material objects." That's not a great sentence, but it gets the point across clearly. Part of writing clearly, especially in a paper of this length, is organizing the paper clearly: it should be clear from the outset where the paper is going and how it will get there. Dividing the paper into titled sections, and perhaps even subsections, can be a helpful organizational tool.

4. Concreteness, detail, focus. Try to avoid vague generalities and empty abstractions. Your points should be made concrete by illustrating them with examples. References to the primary texts, or to secondary sources, should be specific and should include page references. Don’t just say “Spinoza says that it is good to live in a community,” specify exactly where he says this. (Not only does this provide your reader with needed information, it also helps to keep you honest; you may find yourself reevaluating your view of what the philosopher says as you search for evidence that he says what you thought he did!)

5. Use of Class Readings. The paper must include discussion of some of the readings for the class (though it may also make use of outside readings).

6. Other Sources. In addition to class readings, you will probably want to make some use of the literature on your topic. This is not a requirement, and in any case you should avoid trying to discuss too much of the literature in the paper, which otherwise is likely to become too unfocused. However, doing some outside reading on your topic can help to give you a better sense of the lay of the land, so to speak. (Make sure you properly cite any sources you use.) In addition to the journal literature (which can be searched using the Philosopher's Index, as well as such online resources as JSTOR), you may want to consult such reference works such as the Encyclopedia of Philosophy, the Routledge Encyclopedia of Philosophy, and the online Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy.

7. Not a Research Paper. Do keep in mind that the paper is not primarily a research paper! Its goal is not to present a description or summary of what a number of sources say about a topic. The goal is for you to work out your own view about a matter that interests you, and to argue for that view as persuasively as you can. The secondary literature is valuable primarily in suggesting interpretations and arguments that you may want to consider and either defend or criticize, and also in pointing you to relevant primary sources. It is of no interest that expert X says that time is unreal; what may be of interest is the evidence and arguments that X marshals to support this assertion.

8. Academic Integrity. Academic integrity is taken very seriously at Trinity (as elsewhere). Make certain that you are familiar with Trinity’s policy on academic integrity, available in the student handbook (and also on the web). Be very careful not to plagiarize, not to treat someone else's words or ideas as your own. Make sure you don’t inadvertently violate Trinity’s policy. Copying an entire paper of course is plagiarism--but so is copying or closely paraphrasing a single sentence. If someone else makes a point in a particularly elegant or entertaining way it is all right to make use of their words, but only if you enclose them in quotation marks and give a complete reference indicating where they came from. If I discover that a paper has been plagiarized in whole or part, I must, according to University policy, give the paper a failing grade, reduce the course grade by a letter grade, or give the student a failing grade in the course; notify the student in writing; and send copies of this notification to my chairman, the Dean of Humanities and Arts, and the Vice President for Academic Affairs. I will follow this policy if I find evidence of a violation of the policy.