Writing a Philosophy
Paper
What’s the point of the
assignment?
It’s an opportunity
(i) to explore an issue of interest to you in more depth;
(ii) to develop your ability to bring clarity to a confusing situation;
(iii) to engage your problem-solving talents;
(iv) to hone your reasoning skills;
(v) to continue to improve as an author of critical or
argumentative essays;
(vi) to come to a greater understanding of difficult issues that
matter to us as humans.
Your target in writing a philosophy
paper
Let’s distinguish the point of your writing the paper from your
target or objective. (Compare: the point of playing checkers vs.
the target.) We already discussed the point.
The main target or objective: to defend a thesis by offering
arguments that provide support for the thesis in question.
The best means to this end: being clear, precise, charitable (to
your opponent), and rigorous in your reasoning.
Advice on picking a topic
Try to pick an issue where you genuinely feel the weight of the
problem. I have in mind a couple of points here.
An obvious point: otherwise it is less likely that you will be
engaged by the assignment.
A less obvious point: in the usual case a completely one-sided
discussion is less interesting. Acknowledging the strength of
your opponent’s position helps bring out the interest of the
dispute. (Philosophical debate as aimed at truth vs. persuasion.)
Structuring the paper
The following outline is perhaps worth having in mind:
(i) Intro with an explicit thesis statement
(ii) A more sustained presentation of the philosophical issue
(iii) Defense of thesis
(iv) Acknowledgement of potential objections
(v) Conclusion (optional)
(i) Intro
Some advice on writing an intro:
• Avoid the all-too-common “Since the beginning of civilization
man has pondered…”
• In a short paper your intro is ideally limited to one brief
paragraph at the start of the paper. (Not the place for a more
detailed statement of the issues. Not necessarily the place to
introduce terminology or distinctions.) Limit yourself to the
following:
(i) A brief statement of the philosophical issue.
(ii) An explicit thesis statement that tells the reader what you’re
going to do on the topic at hand. (Note: using “I” in philosophy
is just fine.)
(ii) A more sustained presentation
of the philosophical issue
Philosophy assignments will typically ask you to engage with
some views/arguments on some philosophical topic or other.
• What, precisely, is the topic at hand? (Any necessary jargon
should be explained, unnecessary avoided.)
• What views/arguments on the topic are you critically engaging
with? (Be clear and charitable in your presentation of the
views of others, and state their views in your own words,
without excessive reliance on quotes.)
• Avoid book-report style summarizing of the readings!
(iii) Defense of thesis
Aim to have your case in favor of your thesis meet the following
conditions:
(i)
Your reasons in favor of your thesis are reasons the force of
which others (with relevant background knowledge) can
appreciate.
(ii) It is clear how your arguments lend support to your thesis.
(iv) Acknowledgement of potential
objections
Acknowledging and (if possible, addressing) the weakest links in
your argument serves to clarify the force of your reasons.
(v) Conclusion (optional)
In short assignments, a summary conclusion is not essential.
If the overall structure of your paper is not particularly clear,
change the paper! Add signposts! Don’t rely on the conclusion
to clarify the structure of your paper.
Nonetheless, a brief conclusion is often warranted—especially if
you’re adding something of interest.
Most important piece of advice
Rewrite, rewrite, and then rewrite again.
What’s idiosyncratic here?
These basic guidelines should serve you in your philosophy
classes here at Oberlin and at similar institutions.
One idiosyncrasy is worth noting, however. These guidelines are
appropriate for all of my classes, including history courses.
Some teachers of the history of philosophy prefer assignments
focused more on exegesis and less on confronting philosophical
problems.