Philosophy Group Presentation Project
As we review for the final IB exams, you will be charged with the task of learning about philosophers that we
have not spent much time on in class so far this year. You will then present your findings to the class and give
them a way to retain the information in case they would like to use it on their final exams.
You will have four days to work on this in class (so they better be good!). Presentations start Tuesday April
14th (the Tuesday after Spring Break). You are the teachers, meaning you need to know this material well
enough that you can respond to questions from your peers.
Each group will be assigned a particular philosopher. Requirements for material you cover in your presentations
include:
1. Any background on the philosopher that might be relevant in helping to understand his/her views
(experiences that they have gone through, influences, etc). We do NOT need to know where they went
to school or how many degrees they had unless these things will actually help explain their thoughts.
2. The philosophical concepts that this philosopher writes about with relation to an area of the course.
a. Specify whether each concept would be applicable to the Human or Epistemology part of the
syllabus. This will help in organizing your thoughts about how they might be applicable to your
essays
b. Because some of these philosophers wrote about many different things, before you go into too
much depth in your research, make sure you check with me about which areas of their
philosophy you should focus on for this presentation
3. The philosopher’s stances on the philosophical concepts mentioned above. These will be brief and in the
form of statements. Quotes might be appropriate here.
4. The philosopher’s arguments for the stances mentioned above.
a. This should be the largest chunk of your presentation. Bring in particular examples that are
unique to the philosopher’s work.
b. It would be appropriate for this section of your presentation to give out a short excerpt of one of
your philosopher’s actual works and read through it/ discuss together as a class.
5. Any counterarguments that can be/ were raised to this philosopher’s arguments. These could be
historical examples or ones that you come up with on your own.
6. How the philosopher responded to counterarguments OR how you think the philosopher would
respond given what you know about him/her.
7. Evaluation of philosopher’s arguments: How do you think this philosopher contributes to an
understanding of epistemology or what it means to be human? How well do their thoughts stand up to
the test of time? Are their thoughts still relevant today? Could you apply them to a contemporary
example?
8. Bibliography in MLA or Chicago style format citing your information. Websites should have a URL
included at the end of the citation.
9. Handout/ Graphic organizer or note-taking sheet to help your classmates organize the material you are
presenting. If you need me to make copies for you, you must email it to me by 6:30am the morning of
your presentation and let me know.
Rubric: 100 points
*Note that a group grade will apply except in cases where the work has been unevenly distributed among the
group members.
____ 50 points Accurate and detailed description of philosophical arguments and stances
____ 10 points Counterarguments
____ 10 points Evaluation of arguments
____ 10 points Bibliography
____ 20 points Presentation and preparation (handout included)