Students will demonstrate their ability to (a) accurately present an argument, (b) provide objections, (c) consider potential responses, and (d) defend their view on this topic. This assignment will be the culmination of skills developed in the previous writing assignment and discussions.
Students will write one paper defending their favored view on “the morality of gun control”.
Word limit will be 1,200 (minimum) to 1,500 (maximum). Include word count in the final document.
The purpose of the papers is not to do extensive research on the topic, but to carefully and critically analyze and evaluate a particular position along with the arguments that support it and the objections that go against it. That is, I want you to “do philosophy”, not just learn what others thought. You should be able to reconstruct accurately an argument, consider an objection to that argument, and respond by showing how the objection fails or what modifications can be made to defend one’s original argument.
There should also be clear evidence that you are interacting with arguments/criticisms from the readings for this course. (Debating Gun Control)
Since this is a paper (and not a mere writing assignment), it should have the elements of a paper–e.g., introduction, thesis statement, etc.
This is comment from my teacher on past assignment written by you.
“One of the main things I noticed is that for several of you, the objections and responses often shifted the focus or subject. That is, after presenting an argument, the objection would focus on a related but not directly relevant issue. But the objection should directly critique the first argument presented (as stated in the prompt), and your response should directly address the objection in part 2. This will be especially important for your final paper. Additionally, your final paper will require a more substantive reply to the objection considered, which requires practicing intellectual autonomy by either showing exactly how an objection fails or by revising a premise or claim (and doing this will require some novel contributions of your own and creative problem-solving). Try practicing these techniques in the next two modules on immigration and gun control.”
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