PHIL 100J – Introduction to Philosophy Instructions for Essay #1 The first essay for PHIL 100J is due on January 22, 2020. The topic for the essay is: “The Role of Truth in My Life”. You are asked to reflect on the ways in which truth features or does not feature in your life. This is intended to be a personal essay, in the sense that you approach it from the particularities and uniqueness of your own life. As such, the paper should deal with your experiences and life history, rather than with abstract statements that have little bearing on your own life. Some questions you may consider as you develop your paper as the following, in no particular order: What is truth? Have I been mindful of truth throughout my life? Or only at certain moments? Which moments? Is truth important to me? Is truth important as such? How would I describe or define truth? What is the value of truth? Is truth timeless? Does truth have value only for me as an individual or also for society and the common good? Do my parents and teachers emphasize the significance of truth for human living? Is there an event or episode in my life that I can recall in which the question of truth came to the forefront of my mind? (e.g. in a court of law; in a business interaction; in writing an essay for a teacher) There are many issues that one may discuss in such an essay, including: The pervasive role of science in our age. The moral relativism of our culture. The family and religious traditions we may have been brought up in. The influence of peer pressure, whether it be from school, work or the society at large. The influence of technology and the mass media (e.g. Facebook, Twitter, tv, newspapers). Historical perspectives (i.e. different epochs had different ways of thinking and living). The education system (e.g. is truth valued and taught in elementary and secondary schools?) The significance of conscience (one’s own inner moral compass). These lists are by no means exhaustive. They are presented here to give you some idea of what you could possibly write on. Do not take these suggestions as prescriptive, but only as examples. You are free to choose the topic for your essay. 2 Some Points to Keep in Mind: 1. Creativity and thoughtfulness are very much encouraged in this first essay. Think long and hard about what truth signifies for you. The key to this assignment is to express how truth fits into your life as opposed to presenting a mere dictionary entry on the nature of truth. In fact, I strongly discourage you from consulting dictionaries and encyclopedias for this assignment. You should be attempting to think on the basis of your own experiences and to present a personal account of truth. 2. There are, generally speaking, no right or wrong answers for this first essay. There will, however, be four criteria that I will be using to assess your essays: A. THE QUALITY OF YOUR REFLECTIONS: This assignment should be carried out in a serious and thoughtful manner. If there are clear indications that you are not taking this assignment seriously and have submitted an essay which is insincere then your essay will be penalized. My principal concern here is that this assignment be done in good faith. Naturally, I am not going to assess the degree of your “seriousness”, which would be impossible, but I do want to avoid having essays submitted which are not serious at all. An example of a poor reflection on this topic is if a student simply quotes the dictionary definition of truth and leaves it at that. By contrast, a thoughtful reflection is one that alludes to personal experiences, beliefs, and values and attempts to show how these realities contribute to one’s understanding of truth. B. THE COGENCY OF YOUR ARGUMENTS: When you offer an opinion, view or judgement in an academic essay, you must support your position with reasons. In universitylevel writing, it is unacceptable simply to assert an opinion and not to defend this opinion with a strong argument or at least as strong as you can offer. Therefore, your essays will be evaluated for the strength or cogency of the arguments that you give. A weak essay will simply contain opinions that are not supported by any arguments. For example, merely stating “I believe that truth is valuable for life” is insufficient: you need to explain why you hold this position. Another shortcoming in argumentation occurs when you give an opinion and you also offer a reason for your opinion, but your reasoning is very weak and unpersuasive. Be sure to offer strong arguments for a position. These are reasons which are convincing and persuasive. An example of a weak argument would be the following: “I believe that truth is valuable for life because philosophers have said so”. Not every reason is a good reason! C. ESSAY ORGANIZATION: Your essay must be properly organized. It should have an introduction and conclusion. The introduction should be about one paragraph long and it should state what your essay is all about. The conclusion, by contrast, should also be about a paragraph long and it should summarize the chief points that you raised in your paper as well as bring closure to the essay. Furthermore, think about the following points: Are you presenting your thoughts in an orderly, coherent, and logical manner? Does your essay flow smoothly? Or are your ideas presented in an arbitrary, even chaotic, fashion, with no rhyme or reason to your overall point? It is important to write essays which are well written from the point of view of the organization of your ideas. Although this is an assignment that asks 3 for your personal thoughts to be expressed, this does not mean that you can express your thoughts in any shape, manner or form. Organize your thoughts so that you know what you want to say and how you are going to express yourself. If your essay comes across as disorganized and clumsily put together then marks will be deducted. D. MEETING THE FORMAL REQUIREMENTS FOR ESSAY WRITING: Please follow generally accepted academic standards in spelling, grammar and style. I will deduct marks for essays which contain significant errors in spelling, grammar, punctuation, and style. Avoid colloquialisms and slang as well as contractions; write in proper English sentences. Make sure to proofread your essay very carefully before handing it in to eliminate all errors dealing with language. If in doubt, ask a friend or relative to read it over for you. If you are really unsure about whether you are doing this correctly, come and see me for advice. It is of the utmost importance that you get used to writing impeccable essays during your university studies. E. A good website to consult in preparing your essay is: https://uwaterloo.ca/writing-andcommunication-centre/resources. This website gives useful advice in writing essays and should be relied upon by students in this course. 4. The essay should be between 3 - 5 double-spaced pages (750 - 1250 words). This is a rough guideline. However, do try to adhere to this recommendation. Essays which are too short (e.g. 2 pages) or too long (e.g. 7 pages) will not be looked upon favourably and may be penalized. 5. You must provide a title page which includes the following information: (a) A title which accurately indicates the content of the essay; (b) student’s name; (c) student number; (d) course number and name; (e) date. 6. The pages of your essay must be numbered sequentially. 7. Please staple your pages together. Do not use duo-tangs, paper clips, folders, or other fastening devices. 8. The lateness penalty is 3% deducted for each weekday that the essay is late. 9. If you are in doubt about whether you are following any of these procedures correctly, ask the professor for guidance! REMEMBER: The essay is due on Wednesday, January 22, 2020, at the beginning of class!
