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Instructions FIRST ARGUMENTATIVE ESSAY: Knowledge & Faith PHIL 1030: Introduction to Philosophy Dr. Meredith PURPOSE: This assignment is designed to assess Your understanding of major concepts and arguments in epistemology and epistemic responsibility; and Your ability to construct an argument in support of a philosophical position. The idea is for you take what you have learned and do your own thinking about it. For that reason, the use of outside sources is being restricted. See below. PRODUCT: This is to be an essay of 750 to 1,250 words. It is to be typed, double-spaced, using a standard word-processing program, and submitted as a .doc, .docx, .pdf, or .rtf file. It is to be uploaded to the Assignments dropbox in PAWS (located under Assessment). TOPIC: As the focus of your essay, please choose one of the following theses. We have good reason to trust that science does (or can) provide us with genuine knowledge. We have no good reason to trust that science does (or can) provide us with genuine knowledge. We have good reason to believe in God. We have no good reason to believe in God. METHOD: Your analysis should proceed through the following basic stages. Begin by explaining the question, giving necessary theoretical background. Then take a position on the question. (This is your thesis.) Then offer reasons or evidence to support your thesis. (The kind of evidence you offer depends on the question.) Remember to illustrate your points with specific examples whenever you can. Finally, offer a response to an objection that might be raised by someone who took the opposite viewpoint from yours. Close by summarizing what you have accomplished. SOURCES: When discussing the philosophical issues relevant to your question, make use of the required readings. Any readings on the syllabus to date are fair game. If you are discussing the problem of induction, you should (at least) refer to, and cite, Hume. If you are discussing epistemic responsibility, you should (at least) discuss and cite Clifford and James. And so forth. Use of the assigned video material, properly cited, is permitted but not required. When coming to your conclusion, do some thinking of your own. Don’t simply rely on found material. Specifically, anything not listed on the syllabus is a banned resource. Essays that rely on banned resources will receive failing grades. Also, essays that do not provide proper citations or documentation for any sources used, will be deemed plagiarized and receive failing grades. CITATION: For this short exercise with limited resources, parenthetical references are sufficient. Follow the format below. Print source (long form, for first citation): (David Hume, “Skeptical Doubts Concerning the Operations of the Understanding,” in Philosophy: The Quest for Truth, 11th ed., 274) Print source (short form, for subsequent citations): (Hume, 277) Video source (long form, for first citation): (Crash Course Philosophy: Epistemic Responsibility, video, at 2:37). Video source (short form, for subsequent citations): (Epistemic Responsibility, 3:29) GRADING:
