Philosophy critical analysis paper example

Philosophy critical analysis paper example

 · Analysis examples in excel such as the critical website example, are found in the page that show examples of this second step. Source: blogger.com It uses critical thinking to assess the strengths and/or the weaknesses of a piece of writing and tells the readers evaluate the essay instead of the original topic if the original essay was about crime, then your paper is not about crime Philosophical Analysis Essay Examples. 7 total results argument. Since most of these paper assignments are short, it is important to be concise in all parts of your analysis. Writing an outline (and following it) is crucial to remain focused on your argument and avoid summary or irrelevant description. Following is a sample outline for a critical analysis paper: I. Introduction a. Identify the work being criticized b

SAMPLE SHORT PHILOSOPHY PAPER: For Illustrative purposes only

Information on Writing Philosophy Papers. Note in particular that it is a violation of these policies to use material from any source other than yourself in your papers without attribution and, where relevant, use of quotation marks.

This applies especially to copying and pasting material from websites, which should always be avoided. You may, of course, make limited use of academically respectable web resources where relevant, as long as they are properly cited I'm not picky about the exact format of your citations, as long as they contain the relevant information and any quoted material is clearly placed in quotation marks though this should still be a very limited portion of your paper.

However, you should never make any use at all of student 'essay mills'--websites that offer students canned student essays for 'research' purposes: these essays are not research and do not meet the standards for scholarly sources; they have no place in the writing of your papers.

General Guidelines for Writing Philosophy Papers. Sample Short Paper and Commentary. Sample Essay Question : Is Socrates' position in the Critoconcerning the moral authority of the state, philosophy critical analysis paper example, consistent with his view that one should never do anything that is wrong? Is it consistent with what he says, in the Apologyabout what he would do if commanded by the state to cease practicing philosophy, or about what he did when commanded by the Thirty to capture Leon of Salamis for execution?

Note: page references are to a different edition than the one you have ; paragraphs should be indented, but are not here due to limitations of html formatting; I have not here included footnotes for the same reason; and your papers should be double-spaced, philosophy critical analysis paper example, rather than single-spaced.

Socrates on the Moral Authority of the State. In the CritoSocrates makes some surprisingly strong claims about the moral authority of the state, philosophy critical analysis paper example, which might even seem to be inconsistent both with another fundamental claim he makes in the Crito and with certain claims he makes in the Apology.

I shall argue that although these claims seem to be in some tension with each other, the crucial claims about the authority of the state in the Crito can plausibly be interpreted in such a way as to remove any real inconsistency with the other claims, philosophy critical analysis paper example. The first, rather striking claim about the moral authority of the state occurs at 51b of the Crito. Socrates argues that, because of the state's role as a provider of security, education, and various important social institutions such as marriagethe citizens of the state are its philosophy critical analysis paper example and servants"; and from this he concludes that citizens are subordinate to the state and its laws to such an extent that if a citizen ever disagrees with the state's laws or orders, he "must either persuade it or obey its orders," even if the latter amounts to suffering death.

The implication for his own case is clear: Socrates had tried to persuade the court of his innocence and of the injustice of his execution as detailed in the Apologybut he had failed; therefore, he argues, he must now obey the court and philosophy critical analysis paper example his death sentence--even though he still thinks that he is in the right on this matter.

The second, philosophy critical analysis paper example, closely related claim, comes only a few paragraphs later, in 51e and Socrates there argues that by virtue of remaining in the state, a citizen enters into an implied contract with it to obey its commands. More precisely, the claim is again that a citizen who philosophy critical analysis paper example a disagreement with the state must either persuade it that it is wrong, or else obey it.

In the voice of the personified laws: "either persuade us or do what we say" 52a. The implication, again, is that if one fails to persuade the state to change its mind, for whatever reason, then one must obey its orders. A citizen has no moral right to continue to resist the state, even if he is convinced that he philosophy critical analysis paper example in the right and the state is in the wrong.

Now as mentioned above, philosophy critical analysis paper example, these claims seem directly opposed to certain other claims Socrates makes. Most importantly, earlier in the Crito itself, Socrates had stressed that "one must never do wrong" 49b. Indeed, this serves as the driving principle behind the rest of his argument in the Crito.

But is this really consistent with maintaining that one must always obey the state, if one fails to persuade it that something it orders is wrong? The obvious objection is that the state might well order one to do something wrong--e. because one of its laws is an unjust one, as Jim Crow laws were.

In that case, Socrates' claim that one should never do anything wrong would entail refusing to do what the state orders-- even if one is unsuccessful in persuading the state that it is wrong.

Thus, philosophy critical analysis paper example, Socrates' claim that one should never do wrong seems inconsistent with his claim that one must always obey the final orders of the state. Secondly, it might be objected that Socrates' view of the moral authority of the state is inconsistent both with what he did when ordered by the Thirty to capture Leon of Salamis for execution, and with what he says he'd do if ordered by the state to cease practicing philosophy both from the Apology.

When the Thirty ordered him to capture Leon, he refused, on the grounds that this would have been wrong unjust and impious. Apology32c-d This seems to be a recognition that one is morally obligated or at least permitted to disobey the state when what it commands is wrong--even if one fails to persuade it of its wrongness.

And similarly, Socrates makes clear that he would disobey the state and continue philosophizing if it were to order him to stop--again, on the grounds that it would philosophy critical analysis paper example wrong for him to stop philosophizing recall that he saw philosophy as his life's mission, given him by the god.

Apology29c-d Again, this seems to contradict what he says in the Crito about the supreme moral authority of the state and its philosophy critical analysis paper example and orders, philosophy critical analysis paper example. I believe, however, that it is possible to read the crucial passages about the authority of the state in the Crito in such a way as to render them consistent with Socrates' exhortation never to do wrong, and with his remarks about disobedience in the Apology.

To see this, it is necessary to distinguish first of all between two issues: a what the law might require you to doand b what the law might require you to endure.

With this distinction in mind, consider the following possible interpretations of Socrates' claim about the moral authority of the state in the Crito :.

i Citizens must obey any law or order of the state, whatever it asks them to do or to endure. ii Citizens must endure whatever any law or order of the state says they must--including the law that verdicts arrived at through proper procedures shall be carried out--but citizens need not and morally should not do what is prescribed by an unjust law.

There are passages that philosophy critical analysis paper example seem to suggest i e. Thus, a more charitable reading would interpret the passages about the moral authority of the state as referring implicitly to cases where the state does not require one to do anything unjust, but merely to endure something or perhaps to do something that is philosophy critical analysis paper example itself unjust, such as rendering some political service.

If the passages are read in this way, we can interpret Socrates' claim as ii above. When he says that one must obey the state's final laws and orders, what he means is that one must do anything it tells one to do within the bounds of justiceand that one must endure anything it tells one to endure. Thus, Socrates was not obligated to capture Leon of Salamis, and would not be obligated to cease philosophizing if ordered to, since that would be doing something wrong i.

something that is not within the bounds of justice ; but he is obligated to accept and endure his punishment, as long as it was philosophy critical analysis paper example at through proper judicial procedures. The latter is true, according to Socrates, even though the punishment is wrong; for by suffering it, he is not himself doing anything wrong, but only enduring something wrong, philosophy critical analysis paper example.

This is perfectly consistent with Socrates' exhortation never to do anything wrong. Thus, what at first appears to be a blatant contradiction among Socrates' various claims is fairly easily remedied if we interpret the relevant passages in the Crito as making the claim in ii rather than the claim in i above.

This interpretation is supported not only by the fact that it helps to reconcile Socrates' seemingly contradictory claims, but also by the fact that Socrates' examples of obedience to the state over one's own objections all involve having to endure something, rather than having to do something. He speaks in Crito 51b, for example, of having to "endure in philosophy critical analysis paper example whatever it instructs you to endure, whether blows or bonds, and if it leads you into war to be wounded or killed, you must obey.

Therefore, it is consistent with the text to interpret him as making only the claim in ii, which is fully compatible with his claim that one must never do wrong, and with his claim that under certain conditions one should refuse to do something the state orders such as refusing to capture someone for an unjust execution, or refusing to cease carrying out your divine mission as long as you live. As for the plausibility of Socrates' view, I believe that it is still overly demanding, even when qualified as in ii above.

It's unclear why any of the factors Socrates mentioned should give the state such overriding moral authority that one should be morally obliged to endure execution without resistance even in cases where the state is genuinely in the wrong. It seems more plausible to hold that if one stands to be unjustly executed, one can rightly resist this punishment even if it would equally be permissible not to resist. One could do this, I think, without showing any contempt for the laws, or challenging their authority, since one still grants the state's authority to do its best to carry out the punishment, and simply asserts a moral right to do one's best in turn to avoid such wrongful punishment.

But that's a topic for another paper. Note, first of all, the concise, crisp introduction. The problem is plainly stated, and then I explain clearly what I'm going to do in the paper--all in just a few sentences.

There's no rambling introduction with sentences starting with "Since the beginning of time, mankind has pondered the mysteries of etc. The style is straightforward, striving for clarity rather than literary flair, philosophy critical analysis paper example. Jargon is avoided as far as possible. After the introduction, the problem is stated in more depth and detail, philosophy critical analysis paper example, with textual references.

Notice the spare use of quotes. I quote only a few words here and there, where necessary to illustrate the points.

This might be extended to a few sentences, if necessary, but beware of over-quoting and letting someone else's words do your work for you. The worst mistake is just stringing together quotes, which accomplishes nothing, philosophy critical analysis paper example.

Notice also that textual references are given for the quotes, as well as for paraphrased passages. Normally, I'd use footnotes and have complete citations, but I'm limited by html format here. Notice how, in describing the problem, I try to elucidate it, philosophy critical analysis paper example, rather than just summarizing it. Summary is not explanation. Instead, I try to make clear where exactly the tensions among the various claims seem to arise and why, and how they apply to Socrates' own case.

I've tried to go well beyond the superficial statement of the problem in the essay question, to illuminate and develop it, philosophy critical analysis paper example. Now having done that, one might just stop and philosophy critical analysis paper example to have answered the question: "No, the various positions are not consistent, and Socrates is just contradicting himself.

Instead, I tried to dig beneath the surface a little bit, and to notice that the central claim can be interpreted in more than one way. So I first of all made a distinction between two possible interpretations, which in turn depended on a distinction between what you might be commanded to do and what you might be commanded to endure.

That distinction enabled me to argue for an interpretation of what Socrates is claiming about the moral authority of the state that renders this claim consistent with his other claims. Noticing and exploiting distinctions is a large part of what doing philosophy is all about. Whether or not you agree with that particular argument, you can see the difference between bringing the discussion to that level of detail and merely staying on philosophy critical analysis paper example surface.

So even if you would have taken a different position, the point is that a good paper would still be engaging with the issues at that level of depth, rather than remaining on the surface. If you think Socrates really is contradicting himself, for example, you might then also discuss the distinctions I pointed out, philosophy critical analysis paper example, but then argue for an interpretation along the lines of the first interpretation instead, despite the inconsistencies with other things he says.

Of course, you'd have to be able to give an argument for why the text should be philosophy critical analysis paper example in that way, despite the fact that Socrates winds up with rather glaringly conflicting claims on that reading. Again, notice that I am striving for clarityprecision and thoroughnessalong with a straightforward organization for the paper, philosophy critical analysis paper example.

General Guidelines for Writing Philosophy Papers Clarity and straightforwardness of thought and language are crucial: avoid flowery styles and long, superfluous introductions and conclusions.

No paper should ever start with a sentence like: "Since the dawn of time, mankind has pondered the question of If you are writing an essay in response to an assigned essay topic, the most important thing is simply to make sure you answer the question that was askedcarefully and thoroughly. Avoid getting off on tangents that are not crucial to your topic, and avoid sweeping generalizations you can't support in the paper, philosophy critical analysis paper example. In addition to the quality of exposition, philosophy critical analysis paper example, one of the central things we look for in a philosophy paper is how well the thesis in question is supported.

Even if the reader thinks some of your claims are false, your paper can be excellent if you do a solid job of defending your claims.

If you are asked to explain something, do not merely summarize what an author or lecturer has said. Explain and illuminate the relevant ideas or arguments in your own words, as if you were trying to help a fellow student gain a deeper understanding of them. Avoid excessive quotation! Stringing together quotes is not explaining a position or an argument, and does not display your understanding of the material. Even paraphrasing in your own words is not enough.

Again, explanation involves clarifying the claims, bringing out hidden assumptions behind arguments, noticing ambiguities as they arise and nailing them down, and so on. In addition to careful explanation of positions or arguments, some paper topics ask for critical evaluation of those positions and arguments. An example of critical evaluation of an argument would be my lecture criticizing Thomson's argument for the conclusion that abortions wouldn't violate a fetus' right to life even if it were granted to have a full right to life.

I developed and used a distinction between positive and negative rights, and argued that the central parallel she appeals to in her argument fails to go through, since it involves a conflation of positive and negative rights. Some paper topics ask you to do the same sort of thing, and if you're writing on such a topic, be sure that this component of your paper is strong and well developed.

How to Write a Critique Essay (An Evaluation Essay_

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Critical Analysis Essay: Full Writing Guide with Examples | EssayPro

Philosophical Analysis Essay Examples. 7 total results  · Analysis examples in excel such as the critical website example, are found in the page that show examples of this second step. Source: blogger.com It uses critical thinking to assess the strengths and/or the weaknesses of a piece of writing and tells the readers evaluate the essay instead of the original topic if the original essay was about crime, then your paper is not about crime argument. Since most of these paper assignments are short, it is important to be concise in all parts of your analysis. Writing an outline (and following it) is crucial to remain focused on your argument and avoid summary or irrelevant description. Following is a sample outline for a critical analysis paper: I. Introduction a. Identify the work being criticized b