Philosophy of Natural Science - First Paper Assignment
Draft Due: Feb 24: One complete draft due (for me to critique). You will also turn in a copy to
turnitin.com.
Final Draft Due: Mar 8: One complete draft due. You will also turn in a copy to turnitin.com.
Length: Approximately 5 pages (double space font size 10-12).
Value: 10% - 25% of your final grade.*
* You will write three papers. The third paper will officially be your final exam. Your
best will be worth 25%; your worst paper 10%, and the other will be worth 20%.
What I Expect
This philosopher paper is not just a summary of philosophers’ positions and their arguments for them. In a
paper you must also do some philosophy (provide an argument counterexample or propose an original
position along with a justification for it) of your own. This contribution is not supposed to be a quick point
made at the end, but the focus of the paper. You are writing this paper to set things up to make your
important point about the issues that other philosophers are interested in. So you must still understand and
explain the views of other philosophers, but you must then offer and explain your own ideas and show why
they are relevant.
The Question
Consider two theories of what makes something a science (at least one of these must be from the
text, the other can also be from the text, your own, or from one of your classmates).
Which theory is right and why? The argument that you use here will be the focus of your paper.
According to your preferred theory, is creation science a science? Why or why not?
General Information
In order to do well in this paper (say to get better than a B) you will need to include a novel argument or
defense of an argument that is not from the text. Preferably it will be your own, but it may be a classmate’s
(if it’s a classmate’s, that’s acceptable, but you must acknowledge that fact with a citation). Your novel
point should go towards the major issue in the paper and it should be the focus of your paper, not a mere
comment mentioned at the end. Think of your whole paper as a way of presenting your idea by introducing
the problem and showing how your idea resolves it. Coming up with an idea like this is hard. REALLY
HARD. It is entirely appropriate to struggle and try out ideas and find that they don’t work. Your
classmates and I are here to help.
Generally I recommend going with your gut. If you think that someone is wrong, then look to see what in
particular you dislike about their position and then try to come up with an argument against it. Laudan and
Ruse disagree, so you’re bound to find something you don’t like. If this has already been criticized in the
reading, I still want you to come up with something original to include. You may criticize some defense of
the work you disagree with that has not been addressed. The defense may come from you, the text or a
classmate (remember to cite classmates).
Please appreciate that your argument may well be new to me. You will have to explain it well so that I
know what argument you are making. You already know, but I do not. You are responsible for presenting
your point in such a way that I understand it. So be explicit about the argument you are making and how it
is relevant to the issue. If you run out of space, sacrifice other parts of the paper, not this bit.
Note that this is not a long assignment (do not go beyond six pages) so, you will have to decide what is
necessary for the project and what is not. This can be a very hard decision and will force you to think about
the problem and the structure of a solution. There is no room to include unnecessary things.
Composition & Style
Most importantly, a paper must be composed in such a way that it is clear. You are using written language
to discuss ideas. You cannot do this well without using language well. You could have the best ideas, but if
you can’t write them down, how is anyone to know? So proof read your work. Try to keep your language
as simple and clear as possible. There is no excuse for spelling words incorrectly when there is a spell
check on your computer. Present all arguments completely. Do not use rhetorical questions.
You should assume that the reader is smart, but unfamiliar with the philosophies and your ideas that you
discuss. So you must explain every important concept and complete every argument. For example, it is not
enough to offer a counterexample. You must also explain why it is a counterexample. But remember that
space is limited, so don’t spend so long explaining the debate or a philosophers’ position’s that you don’t
have time to get on to your own ideas. Try to be clear and concise. Don’t begin with an empty paragraph
like; "Since earliest civilization, great thinkers have struggled to understand...". Explain the problem and
move on.
I suggest that you pay special attention to a problem that arises in writing about philosophy that will not
have come up in much of the other writing that you have done before. Philosophical writing involves
discussing arguments and ideas, some of which you don’t agree with. Be explicit and clear about which
views you actually agree with, and which you don’t agree with, but are introducing and explaining so that
you can later reject them. Otherwise, you will appear to contradict yourself when you argue against a
position. English allows many was to do this (e.g. "Socrates believes... However, I contend that...
According to this objection.... My response to the objection is... etc.).
Try to figure out the best and clearest way to write what you want to say. A good way to test your
composition and style is to ask someone who has not taken the course (such as a room mate) to read your
paper and ask them if they understood it, and which parts were confusing etc.
Citations
It must be clear in your paper which ideas are yours and which should be credited to others. For quotations,
summaries, and paraphrases of items from the course textbook you may employ brief citation (e.g. "Ruse,
Text, p. 215"). It is perfectly okay to use arguments and ideas, which were suggested to you by your
classmates. However, you must cite them too (e.g. This idea was suggested by Michael Jordan). I do not
think that you need to look to other books for this assignment, but if you do use ideas from them, they must
be cited in full using any complete and adequate form of citation, such as: (for books): H. J. Paton, The
Categorical Imperitive, Harper and Row, N.Y.,1947, p5, (for journals): Michael Levin, "Kripke’s argument
against the identity thesis", Journal of Philosophy, 72 (1975), P. 149.
You will also submit your assignment to turnitin.com and sign the declaration below
"On my honor, as an Aggie, I have neither given nor received
unauthorized aid on this academic work."
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Signature of student