Tips on Philosophy

The more you put in, the more you get out. To have a great experience in a philosophy class, you must work hard. You must work to read, understand, discuss, and write about the topics and texts. Here are some tips on each of these activities.

Reading Tips

• Read ahead.
• Read carefully. Start slow. You will naturally get faster as the semester goes on.
• Read the text. (Don’t read any “Introductions”, or if you do, read them after. The introduction is often more confusing than the book.) Read Sparknotes, Cliffnotes, etc. last, if at all. I want you to have your own first impression of the work.
• Aim for comprehension. Try to understand the book. Specifically, ask yourself 1. What is the main truth claim? 2. What is the evidence? These are the two most important questions for comprehension. Understand what their main point is, and what their reasoning is for believing that point.
• Pay attention to what confuses you and what you disagree with. Bring your questions to class.
• Read this on how to read philosophy.
• Dialogue with the book before class. Process your thoughts. Take notes. Talk with each other. Email me.

Discussion Tips

1. Say what you think.
2. Listen to your neighbor.
3. Ask your question.
4. Truth hurts; be kind.
5. Proving your neighbor wrong is loving; argue with each other.
6. Proving yourself wrong is wise; seek out your own mistakes.
7. Don’t compare yourself to others.
8. Silence is OK, too.
9. Follow the argument wherever it goes; trust the process.

Writing Tips

Writing a paper is an exercising in clear thinking. You must think first, write second.

Disputation Paper Instructions

Disputations prove a thesis. The thesis answers a question. Disputations respectfully summarize your opponent’s viewpoint. Disputations state a thesis, provide goood arguments, state reasonable objections, and refute them. Disputations are not papers, since they don’t have an introduction or conclusion. Disputations are the outline or “skeleton” of a paper, with clear, numbered, sections.

Philosophy Paper Instructions

Philosophy papers advance a thesis. Like a disputation, they are clear, rigorous, and address objections or counter-arguments. Unlike a disputation, however, they have an introduction, a conclusion, and no section flags.

Grammar and usage tips:

• Omit needless words. The most important feature of clear writing is that there are no extraneous words muddling up your thoughts. Ask yourself, “What exactly am I trying to say?” and then say it, as concisely as possible.
• Use complete sentences. Do not break sentences into two (not “I met Holmes years ago. Coming home from Liverpool.”)
• Participle phrases at the beginning of sentences refer to grammatical subject. (not “Shaken, the car almost missed him.”)
• Stay consistent in singular or plural (not “A person is happy if their dog is happy.”)
• In summaries, keep to one tense (not “He went first to Asia Minor, before he goes to Africa.”)
• Use active voice (not “The bystander was hit by the boxer.”)
• Does not join independent clauses by a comma (not “My friend is a champion, we met after the Olympics.”)
• Makes sure the reader knows who’s speaking (not Love is a divine attribute. “God is love.”)
• Be clear.
• Use definite, specific language
• First and last paragraphs should engage reader attention
• Avoid the thesaurus and fancy words (“zeitgest”, “ouevre”, “uber-smart”) — if you haven’t earned it, don’t use it.
• Do not construct awkward adverbs (not “unfeelingly” but “without feeling”)
• Use orthodox spelling (not “humour,” “Alright”, “tonite” but “humor” “all right” “tonight”)
• Express co-ordinate ideas in similar form
• Keep related words together
• Place emphatic words of sentence at the end
• Avoid succession of loose sentences
• Write in a way that comes naturally
• Do not affect a breezy manner
• Be very clear.

Test Tips

The tests cover information on the Study Guide. Study the Guide.

Extra Credit Tips

To earn extra credit, see the instructions posted online.

1. Read extra.
2. Write extra.
3. Prepare extra.