Example 4   Writing Philosophy Papers

Writing philosophy is quite unlike other writing you have done, and this is because philosophy differs from other subjects in at least three ways.  First, the language of philosophy is the language of argument.  Second, philosophy tackles fundamental and perplexing questions:  while a mathematician may ask, What is 34 + 62?  A philosopher asks, What are numbers?  While an art critic may declare a given painting beautiful, a philosopher asks, What is beauty?  And so on.  The third distinguishing feature of philosophy is its uncertainty.  The uncertainty in philosophy in large part derives from the nature of the questions its asks.  While people adeptly sum numbers, there's still a lively debate about the nature of numbers.  While everybody knows that The Sound of Music is kitsch, there remains a lively debate about the nature of beauty.

Let's take these three features of philosophy--that philosophy consists in arguments about fundamental questions recalcitrant to solution--and trace their implications for the different stages of philosophical writing:  invention, composition, and revision. In the first stage, invention, your goal is to come up with a thesis.  You should think of your thesis as the conclusion of the argument you're going to make. (insert footnote here )  You defend a thesis by providing reasons that would persuade a moderately skeptical reader to affirm your position.  Crafting a good thesis is essential.  A good thesis:  1) has an appropriate scope, i.e., is neither too broad nor too narrow; and 2), is interesting and controversial.  For example, if you argues that Socrates talked about stuff, your thesis would be both excessively broad and uninteresting.  Alternatively, if you argued that Socrates, despite his silence on the subject, thought that his hemlock tasted like a mint julep, you would have an overly narrow thesis that cannot be proved.  Remember that you want to choose a thesis that stands in need of argument and for which argument can be given:  philosophy usually deals with subjects to which there are at least two compelling sides.  Therefore, you should think up counter-arguments to your thesis and think how will I overcome these, or else qualify your thesis in light of them.

The other two features of philosophy, its depth and uncertainty, also bear on crafting a thesis.  Philosophy is about what is important.  Our first reading, the Apology, concerns the trial of Socrates.  Now, it is unimportant whether Socrates' had a fashionably cut toga.  However, the question of whether he deserved his execution is an important question.  Likewise, the proper nature and extent of civil disobedience is an interesting question.  You will find that interrogating your fundamental beliefs uncomfortable and challenging, but the essence of philosophy lies in such questioning:  Nietzsche extols, "It is not a matter of having the courage of your convictions; rather, it is a matter of having the courage to mount an attack on your convictions"  (Genealogy).  So, when thinking about a topic in philosophy you should welcome feelings about doubt, and especially about those ideas that are most important to you.  Thinking up the strongest possible objections to your thesis will sharpen it and make it stronger.

The first item of business during composition is writing an introductory paragraph.  In the introduction your goals are to clearly announce your thesis and to foreshadow the supporting and counter-arguments you will use.  Ensure that the reader has a sense of the logical development of the essay.  Early on in the essay you might want to define recondite, vague, or ambiguous terms that you're going to use.  For example, if you're going to argue that Socrates was a danger to the Athenian state, you should specify what you mean by "danger" for there are a great many ways in which something can be dangerous and you probably don't mean all of them.  You should also provide the reader with any background knowledge he/she might need in order to understand your argument.

In the body of the essay you should make your case for your thesis.  Think of each paragraph as presenting a distinct argument and so arguing for a "mini-thesis."  I usually state the mini-thesis as succinctly and clearly as possible in the first line of the paragraph so that my reader knows exactly what I'll be arguing for.  You need not be quite this blunt; however, you must ensure that the reader can quickly glean the main point of the paragraph.  You should not stray from this main point:  ensure that each of the sentences of the paragraph either supports or clarifies its conclusion.  Also, you should ensure to elucidate the relationship each of your paragraph's arguments and your overall argument.  It's important to elucidate this logical structure of your essay so that the reader knows exactly what you are doing.  Use transitional phrases such as "moreover," "but," "then" and "thus" to guide the reader through the turns of your argument.

At some point in the body of your essay, and usually at the end, you should examine counter-arguments to your thesis.  Especially in philosophy, if your thesis is not controversial, then it is not probably any good.  After you respond to the counter-arguments, take sum of the overall standing of your argument in the concluding paragraph.  Tell the reader the conclusion of your essay and the way in which you have reached your conclusion.  You may also want to give a sense of the broader context of your argument.  How does your argument impact other related but broader issues?

The importance of revision cannot be overstated.  Revision does not involve merely checking for spelling and grammatical errors but re-thinking your whole essay.  You should break this process down into several steps.  For example, you might first reread the essay with an eye to the question of whether your argument as a whole works.  Then, check that each paragraph does what it is supposed to do.  You would check that each of the body's paragraphs is unified and contributes to your overall argument, for instance.  After this, you would check for spelling and grammatical errors.