Hamilton High School Senior Philosophy Essay - 150 Points
A Philosophical Journey: What Do I Believe?
COMPLETED DRAFT DUE: Tuesday, May 1st
FINAL DUE: Tuesday, May 8th
25% penalty for each calendar day essay is not received or not submitted to Turnitin.com – if you are absent on the due
date, the essay must be hand delivered or emailed and received by the beginning of your class period
After exploring the beliefs of several philosophers and ‘thinkers,’ and discussing the ramifications of their ideas on everyday
life, it is now your turn. You ARE a philosopher. You have beliefs about how the world works, why things occur, what
motivates people, etc. Some of these have been with you for a long time; others may have developed from our studies. This
is your opportunity to voice these ideas in essay form.
Compose a coherent, well-organized, and insightful essay comparing and/or contrasting your philosophy of life to that of
various philosophers/thinkers (see below).
Requirements: (required questions and required comparisons/contrasts)
Many of you maintain strong spiritual and/or religious/non-religious beliefs. Expressing those is not only acceptable, but
expected. However, this is not a paper solely about your beliefs and how they impact your life.
Incorporate and justify your answers to the following questions through thorough and specific exemplification.
 How did we get here? How was the Earth formed? Are science and religion compatible? Why/why not? Why are we
here?
 Are you totally free? Who controls your destiny? Do you decide your future, or is your path already set or known by
a power greater than yourself? Is there such a thing as “free will"?
 What happens to us when we die? Do you believe in the concept of heaven and hell? If yes, then how do you picture
each? What does one have to do to get into heaven? Hell? If no, why not? What alternate fate do you believe is in
store for us after death?
In addition to your own beliefs for these three topics, each paragraph must also include a comparison of your
beliefs to that of:
 One existentialist philosopher we studied or
 One Eastern philosopher you read about or
 One scientist, ‘thinker’ or earlier period philosopher
Suggestions: Einstein, Hawking, Rousseau, Locke, Aristotle, Bacon, Chomsky, Descartes, Emerson,
Hobbes, Plato, Rand, Spinoza, Schopenhauer, Lao Tzu
IMPORTANT: While each individual paragraph does not need all three of these, all of them must be discussed at least once
in your paper as a whole.
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You must explain/discuss WHY and HOW you agree or disagree with each philosopher/thinker
You must include at least one quotation by each philosopher (direct quotations only – no paraphrasing or research
by others. You will have to research this on your own)
You must utilize at least three different, credible sources (The two packets from The Complete Idiot’s Guide to
Philosophy counts as ONE source)
FORMAT
 Four pages minimum, not including works cited page, in MLA format
 A correctly formatted Works Cited page
 The use of “I,” “we,” “our,” etc. is acceptable for this essay. However, do not use “you.”