This option is based on Dennis Earl’s Four-Sentence Philosophy Paper (https://dailynous.com/2021/02/10/four-sentence-philosophy-paper/)
I haven’t used this before,
But I thought it might make a nice option for someone who wants to practice philosophical writing without the commitment to a full paper.
Start your paragraphs with these sentences, filling in the blanks:
They say that ____ (since ____).
I say that ____ because ____.
Someone might object that ____.
I reply that ____.
The “since” clause in #1 is optional. You can change up the pronouns (“they” and “I”) to names or other pronouns if you want.
Here’s an example of the sentences, filled in, from the original paper:
They say we shouldn’t be free to smoke on campus, since smoking is bad for you.
I say that we should be free to smoke, because even though smoking is bad, its worse to restrict our freedom.
One might object that that restricting our freedom is necessary in the name of public health.
I reply that freedom actually carries more weight than public health, for with no freedom, public health would be meaningless.
Incorporate the prompt, source, and reading that you chose into your paper.
For example, use the prompt to fill in the “they say” or “I say” blanks. Use the source as “they say,” and use the reading to fill in examples or arguments for #2 or #3.
Target audience is other students in this class
If you haven’t written a philosophy paper before, you might still want to take a look at my detailed guidelines and model papers (Links to an external site.)
I’ll give feedback in the form of a “check/check-plus/check-minus” rating and comments for each of these questions:
Is your paper free of mechanical or stylistic problems?
Does your paper make appropriate use of sources, including class readings?
Is your argument in #2 clear and plausible?
Are your objections and replies in #3 and #4 charitable and plausible?
Do you go beyond class discussions and readings to make some original contributions?
I uploaded one file for instruction, the in-class source i am using is Popper: Conjecture and Refutation, and we have to find an outside of class source.
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