Posted: September 10th, 2021

First Paper Assignment (PHIL 101, F18) Write a 2-3 page paper

First Paper Assignment (PHIL 101, F18)
Write a 2-3 page paper (typed, double-spaced, 12 point font, 1″ margins) in response to one of the
following questions. Papers are due by 4:30 PM on Monday 10/1. Late papers will be penalized 8
points/day unless I grant you an extension in advance. You may want to review the lecture on logic for
guidance about reconstructing and assessing arguments.
1. In the third part of the Meno, Plato offers reasons to think that virtue is a kind of knowledge (pp. 77-
78). (A) Reconstruct Plato’s argument that virtue is “a kind of knowledge.” (Feel free to use the
reconstruction I presented in my PowerPoint lecture.) (B) Provide your own assessment of this
argument. Do you think the argument provides strong support for the claim that virtue is a kind of
knowledge? Why/why not? Be sure to explicitly discuss at least one concern about this argument and
to consider possible objections to your thesis.
2. Provide a careful and critical assessment of one version of the cosmological argument – Aquinas’ 2nd
or 3 way, Clarke’s version, or the Kalaam version (latter two discussed in Rowe). (A) Reconstruct the rd
argument. (B) Provide your own assessment of the argument. Do you think the argument provides
strong grounds for thinking God exists? Why/why not? Be sure to explicitly discuss at least one
concern about Aquinas’ argument and to consider possible objections to your thesis.

3. Davis offers three different criticisms of simple character education – the empirical, conceptual, and
moral criticisms. (A) Explain what Davis means by “simple character education” and one of these
criticisms. (B) Provide your own assessment of Davis’ critique. Do you think his critique provides
strong reasons to reject simple character education? Why/why not? Be sure to explicitly discuss at
least one concern about this argument and to consider possible objections to your thesis.
Format and Details:
• Hard Copy. I want you to submit a hard copy.
• Cover sheet. Please use a cover sheet with your name, the title, and a word count. Your name
should not appear anywhere else on the paper (including headers). This will allow me to grade
the papers “blind.” Word count should be between about 750 (500-900).
• Research. I do not expect you to conduct any research. I would prefer that you spend your time
thinking carefully about the assigned text, rather than trying to find relevant non-course
material. I can’t prevent you from doing research; but I won’t encourage it, either. If you do
consult non-course materials, you must recognize them in bibliography or footnotes.
• Citing sources. I expect you to follow ordinary academic conventions for citing sources and to
abide by the College’s Honor Code. All direct quotes must be documented. When citing
assigned course material, simply use the author’s last name and page number to document
quotations (e.g., “(Rowe, p. 35)”). For non-course material, you need to provide full
documentation. Use footnotes or any standard system of references and in-text citations (e.g.,
APA, MLA, Chicago).
Other Advice: (1) This is an argumentative essay: make a specific claim (your thesis) and defend your
claim with good reasons. Be sure to show me that you understand objections to the author’s position
and potential objections to your own position. (2) State your thesis in the first paragraph. First person
is fine. It is common to say “In this paper, I will argue that…[fill in your thesis here].” (3) Please read
and follow the guidelines for writing philosophy papers that I assigned. (4) I’m glad to talk to you
about your papers at any point in the writing process.
Grantham’s ~ Hire our professional writers now and experience the best assignment help online with our custom paper writing service. We ensure your essays and assignments are expertly researched, written and delivered on time. ~ Grading Standards
Letter Grade Characteristics
A The paper is well-written – it is grammatically nearly perfect and is a pleasure to
read. It is well-organized, stays on topic, and is appropriately documented. The
paper is accurate in nearly every detail. The thesis is clearly stated at the
beginning of the paper and is supported with forceful arguments. The 1
argument(s) and/or evidence support the conclusion as strongly as can be
expected given the limits on length. The author is aware of other points of view
– particularly potential objections to her thesis – and explains why those
objections fail. The arguments show some personal insight or originality, going
beyond the arguments discussed in class.
B A solid and well-reasoned paper, but falls short of the “A” standard given above.
Overall, it is less well-crafted. The paper is effectively written, but may contain
several grammatical errors and/or minor inaccuracies. The “B” paper is wellargued:
it makes important, sensible points and offers good reasons to support
those claims. But the B paper does not defend these points as effectively as the
A paper (e.g., the arguments are less detailed and/or less sophisticated).
C An adequate paper. The paper suffers from one or two major weaknesses in
writing (e.g., repeated or serious grammatical errors), content (e.g., misrepresents
the views of an author in an important way), or argumentation (e.g.,
fails to address an important objection to the thesis being defended). Despite
these significant problems, the paper displays an adequate understanding of the
central philosophical issues under discussion.
D Barely acceptable. The paper represents a passing effort, but is not “adequate”;
it contains several major weaknesses (see examples above) or is fundamentally
flawed (e.g., does not display an adequate understanding of the issues being
discussed; fails to provide evidence to support the thesis; fails to show
awareness of alternative positions).
When I say the arguments are forceful, I do not mean that the conclusion is “extreme.” 1
You can provide forceful arguments – very persuasive, thoughtful, arguments – for moderate,
sensible positions. One might even provide a forceful argument to support the conclusion that, at
present, we cannot resolve the issue!

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