Research Paper Proposal Instructions

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Western University *

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572

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Philosophy

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Apr 3, 2024

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docx

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Philosophy 1360E: The Big Questions We All Ask: Final Research Paper Proposal due date: Friday, March 4 th , 2022, 11:59 PM. Final paper due date: Monday, April 4 th , 2022, 11:59 PM. Please submit your assignment on OWL. For the final research paper assignment, you will be required to develop and defend a thesis with respect to one or more of the topics and ideas we have examined throughout the course. The final assignment will be completed in two stages. In the first stage, you will be required to develop a paper topic in consultation with Dr. Tait, due March 4th. Collected below is a list of potential research questions (additional questions may be added to this list); your task for the proposal is to choose one of these research questions and outline how you intend to answer the question. Your research proposal should clearly state: i) Which question you intend to answer; ii) An outline of your thesis: how do you intend to answer the chosen question? Do you agree or disagree with the chosen author(s)/philosopher(s)? Which philosophical thesis do you intend to defend? iii) A few sentences indicating what strategy you intend to adopt to defend your thesis. What will be the structure of your argument? Are there any supporting claims or ideas that will help you to defend your thesis? Are there any arguments against your position, and if so, how do you intend to address them? Note that if you wish to develop your own thesis topic different from any on the list provided, you may do so in consultation with Dr. Tait. Your chosen topic should relate in some fashion to one or more of the topics explicitly examined in the course. Examples of outstanding research proposals are provided below. Your thesis proposal should be 150-250 words and is due on March 4 th . Dr. Tait will then review and provide feedback on your proposals, which can then be used to complete your final essay due April 4 th . All proposals and final papers should be submitted in .doc or .pdf format and in 12-point font, with standard margins, and double-spaced. You are not required to consult external references; however, you may do so if you wish. Your answer should explain in your own words one of the ideas or arguments listed below. An excellent answer will demonstrate familiarity with the required readings, and a willingness to explain the required concepts to an imaginary reading audience unfamiliar with the ideas. The required readings may be found on the course website or through the links provided on the course syllabus.
While the goal of exposition is to explain ideas in your own words, sometimes you may feel it is useful or necessary to quote an author directly. Be sure to properly reference and cite any external materials consulted in APA format: https://www.lib.uwo.ca/files/styleguides/APA.pdf . Cite my lectures with my last name, slide number, date, and URL. Choose one question to answer: 1) Does the self exist? Why or why not? Answer with reference to at least two of the arguments from Hume, Descartes, and Skinner. 2) Do you find the cosmological argument for the existence of God convincing? In making your case, be sure to carefully describe at least one of Aquinas’s formulations of the argument as contained in his ‘Five Ways’. You may also wish to consult the counterarguments of Russell and Dawkins. 3) Do you agree with Skinner that it is time to move beyond the concepts of ‘freedom’ and ‘dignity’? Why or why not? 4) Is promoting the greatest happiness for the greatest number the supreme moral principle? Why or why not? In making your argument, refer to the arguments of Mill and at least one of Kant and Aristotle. 5) What is surveillance capitalism? Is the advent of surveillance capitalism bad for humanity because it threatens our autonomy? Reference the argument of Shoshana Zuboff and least one of Skinner’s Beyond Freedom and Dignity and Kant’s Groundwork for the Metaphysics of Morals. 6) Is there a compelling rational argument for the existence of God? Why or why not? Refer to at least two arguments from Aquinas, Anselm, Dawkins, Russell and Paley. 7) Should we always act ‘so as to at the same time will that our actions should become universal law’, as Kant claims? Why or why not? Refer to the reading from Kant and at least one other author we have examined in the course. 8) Is it rational to be religious? Is religion a key component of the good life? Answer with reference to the arguments of William James and at least one other author we have examined in the course.
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