Teaching Students How to Read and Write Philosophy - PowerPoint Presentation

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Teaching Students How to Read and Write Philosophy Papers

Cameron Fenton

Lead TA for Philosophy

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But first…

I’ve been getting mixed feedback about participant interaction in the workshops. Some people really like it and others want more of a lecture.

I think these workshops work best when you are learning from each other as much as from me. You probably learn more than you think when discussing problems with your colleagues.

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Everyone has different experiences while teaching and I think hearing about as many perspectives and solutions as possible is very valuable.

For example, I was very surprised to hear about the different experiences many of my female colleagues had and how they often had to overcome challenges to their competence that I’ve never faced.

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Reading Philosophy

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How to Write Read a Philosophy Paper

Before your students can write a philosophy paper, they need to know how to read a philosophy paper.

Remember the first time you read Kant or Wittgenstein?

Wouldn’t it have been helpful to have instruction on how to approach the work of these authors?

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Reading philosophy well is different from reading fiction or news well.

Reading philosophy is an active process. You have to look for arguments, pick out premises and conclusions, consider objections, etc.

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Some things you can do to help

1. Provide relevant historical information. For example,

k

nowing that Hobbes was writing during a civil war is helpful when trying to understand why he thinks that sovereign power must be absolute.

2. Give dates and original language. For example, if students don’t know Kant was a 18

th

century German philosopher they might criticize him unfairly (though I always hear he’s not much better in German).

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3. Provide students with definitions of key terms. This will help those terms stick in their minds and focus their reading on the important concepts. For example, you might provide them with a definition of a perfect duty when they are reading Kant.

If you think this is too generous, then just give them important terms without definitions. The goal is to allow them to focus on what is important.

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4. Explain the ways that an argument can be flawed. Even a simple explanation of the difference between an argument with false premises and an argument with a faulty logical structure can be helpful.

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What else?

Have you done anything I haven’t mentioned to help prepare your students to read a philosophy paper?

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David Concepcion’s Model

Reading Philosophy with Background Knowledge and

Metacognition. (

Teaching Philosophy, 27:4, December

2004)

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Step One: Pre-read

Look at the basics of the work you are assigned. Table of contents, bibliography, section headers, footnotes, etc.

The goal in this stage is to get a sense of the structure and aim of the paper. What’s the paper about?

Read the first and last paragraph if the thesis isn’t clear from the other information.

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Step Two: Fast Read

Read the article from start to finish quickly.

Look for the thesis statement, look up definitions, make brief notes in the margins.

The goal in this stage is to get a basic understanding of the article. You should be able to tell someone else what the article is about.

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Step Three: Reading for Understanding

Read the article again, but this time go slowly and take notes. Mark up the article so that you can find important passages later. Write a brief summary of the article so you don’t have to read it again later to figure out the main points.

The goal in this stage is to gain an understanding of the author’s arguments and how they support the conclusion.

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Step Four: Evaluation

Now it’s time to fill out any objections you may have noted during your reading. First, try to write out your objections in detail and identify the mistake the author made. Then think about how the argument could be made stronger.

Remember to be charitable. Don’t criticize Descartes for failing to take recent research in neuroscience into account. It’s not particularly fair to blame him for failing to have a time machine.

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Tips from Vaughn and McIntosh

1. Approach the text with an open mind. (a) Don’t approach an essay looking to prove the author wrong. (b) Be open to the possibility that the essay could change your position. (c) Similarly, don’t assume that just because an author is famous that they are always correct. (d) If you think an author is making a ridiculous point, then you are probably misunderstanding the essay. Assume there is something of value and ask for help if you really can’t see it.

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2. Make an outline of the arguments. Even if you think you understand the argument it can be helpful to try reconstructing it. If you can do it successfully, then you know you understand the argument. If not, then you should read it again.

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Resources

The paper I cited at the beginning of this section has an excellent appendix with a handout you can use.

Writing Philosophy

by Vaughn and McIntosh also contains a section on how to read philosophy papers. This book is often assigned in intro classes (though not this year) so you might

already have a copy.

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Websites:

http://www.tru.ca/disciplines/eng309/

howread.htm

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Activity: Group Discussion

How do you read philosophy papers? Do you have a method that you use to take notes? Do you read papers more than once? Do you try to read an article charitably before coming up with objections?

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Writing a Philosophy Paper

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How (and why) To Write a Philosophy Paper

Now it’s time to talk about the process of writing a philosophy paper.

It might not be scary to you anymore (though it still is to me), but your students don’t have the experience you do.

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Clarify

Make sure students know what kind of essay to write.

Most philosophy classes will require argumentative essays. However, some might only require descriptive or expository essays.

Many of the other courses will only require descriptive or compare and contrast essays.

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Argumentative essays often include a descriptive component, but they require arguments for a thesis as well

.

Make sure students understand this or you will get a bunch of descriptive essays.

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Don’t Assume

Don’t assume that all of your students know how to write an argumentative essay. Some of them might, but a refresher won’t hurt them.

Remember that your students come from many different schools, some of which are much better than others. You can’t assume they are all equally well prepared.

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Tell Them Why

It’s important that students understand why they are being asked to write a paper.

You will get much better (and more interesting) papers if you can get the students engaged.

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Activity: Why?

Work in pairs and brainstorm answers to the following question:

What skills do you think students gain from writing a philosophy paper?

Write each skill on a separate piece of paper.

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Part Two

With the other people at your table, develop a way to demonstrate the value of the skills you identified to students. How can each skill benefit them? Can you think of a non-philosophy use for these skills?

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Examples

Give them examples of good philosophy papers. Try to make them course-level appropriate. You might consider one of your own undergraduate essays.

I

have samples available

on OWL.

Explain to them what makes a bad philosophy essay. Give them a sample paragraph that demonstrates common mistakes.

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Common Mistakes

I now want to briefly cover some common mistakes your students are likely to make. I think it is important to explain to students why these are mistakes and how to avoid them.

Do this before the first essay if you can.

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Too ambitious

Students need to understand what can be argued for in a short paper.

Bad thesis: I will argue that utilitarianism is the best moral theory.

Good thesis: I will argue that Mill’s utilitarianism is superior to Bentham’s because it accounts for higher and lower pleasures.

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Trivial

Students should avoid writing essays with uncontroversial conclusions.

Bad thesis: I will argue that it is wrong to kill someone without their consent.

Good thesis: I will argue that physician assisted suicide is morally acceptable because it preserves equality rights protected in the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms.

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Belief without Reason

Students should know that statements about their beliefs are not arguments.

Bad thesis: I believe that Kant is mistaken when he says that all moral imperatives must be categorical imperatives.

Good thesis: Kant’s argument that all moral imperatives must be categorical imperatives is problematic because of the imprecision of the category of moral imperatives.

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Too Vague

Students should defend a well defined and concise thesis.

Bad thesis: I will argue that physician assisted suicide is morally acceptable.

Good thesis: I will argue that physician assisted suicide is morally acceptable because it preserves equality rights protected in the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms.

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Example:

John Stuart

Mills

is the

greatest philosopher of all time

. He developed utilitarianism

from the ground up

and that alone makes him great.

Anyone

who reads

o

n

l

iberty

can see his

mastery of language

.

How can anyone argue with that?

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Anything Else?

Are there any other mistakes you’ve noticed your students make a lot?

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Reinforcement

After you return the essay, go over common problems that occurred. If half of the students had trouble with clarity, it’s worth taking the time to explain the resources available at the university to help them with writing.

Students who made these mistakes will feel better if they know lots of other people made them as well and it will help them avoid those mistakes in the future.

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Resources

A number of resources are available on the OWL site (or will be very soon).

There are rubrics, tips for writing essays, and an excellent presentation that demonstrates the important parts of a philosophy essay.

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Example from Our Department

Angela

Mendelovici

:

https

://prezi.com/z4h1_fwilbxj/a-sample-philosophy-paper

/

The OWL site also has sample presentations that Melissa

Jacquart

and I have used successfully in the past. Melissa’s has a great breakdown of a good simple philosophy essay.

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Feedback and Thanks

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Thanks for coming!