Download How to Write a Philosophical Essay?

How to Write a Philosophical Essay?
1. All philosophical essays have two broad goals:
(a) To clearly articulate a philosophical question; and
(b) To provide a clear, coherent, and well-argued answer to that question (OR to critically evaluate
someone else’s answer to that question)
2. Philosophical essays do not merely “express opinions.” Rather, they attempt to explain why the author
believes what s/he believes and to provide readers with compelling, rationally sound reasons for agreeing.
An essay that expresses unsubstantiated opinions is non-philosophical by definition.
3. Philosophical essays can be divided into two broad categories:
(a) Critical essays: provide a critical evaluation of a philosophical theory, account, perspective, etc. by
identifying its strengths and weaknesses. A critical essay indicates whether the author agrees or disagrees
with the theory on the basis of his/her evaluation. It consists of three parts:
(1) Explanation of the theory being evaluated
(2) Thesis (“I agree with this theory because…” or “I disagree with this theory because…”)
(3) Critical evaluation (identifies a theory’s strengths and weaknesses and explains why it should be
accepted or rejected)
(b) Argumentative Essays: provide a proposed answer to a philosophical question by presenting
arguments on behalf of that answer, evaluating competing answers, and defending against potential
objections. Consists of four parts:
(1) Explanation of the philosophical question to be answered
(2) Thesis (states the author’s proposed answer to the question; “In this essay I will argue that…”)
(3) Evaluation of competing answers (explains why author’s answer is the best overall and should be
accepted by the reader)
(4) Defense against objections (author anticipates and responds to potential objections to his/her position)
4. Both kinds of philosophical essays have specific strengths and weaknesses:
(a) Strong philosophical essays have explanatory force (i.e., they provide the best overall answer to a
given philosophical question). They are also clear (i.e., relatively easy to understand), coherent (i.e.,
logically consistent), and well-argued (i.e., they present a convincing case on behalf of substantive
philosophical claims).
(b) Weak philosophical essays lack explanatory force (i.e., they fail to provide the best overall answer to a
given philosophical question. They are also unclear (i.e., they are difficult to understand), incoherent (i.e.,
they are logically inconsistent or self-contradictory), and/or poorly argued (i.e., they fail to make a
convincing case on behalf of substantive philosophical claims).
5. How to Write Essay Responses to Philosophy Assignment Questions
(a) Generally speaking, each question on the assignment consists of an expository part (which is asking
you to explain something or otherwise demonstrate knowledge or understanding—“Explain So-and-So’s
theory of X”) and a critical part (which is asking you to critically evaluate something—“Do you agree?
Why or why not?”) There are roughly 5 steps involved in writing a response to questions of this sort:
(1) State your aim.“My purpose in this essay is to explain and critically analyze So-and-So’s theory of X.”
(2) State your thesis—i.e., whether you agree or disagree with the theory you are discussing, and why. “I
agree/disagree with So-and-So’s theory of X because…”
(3) Explain the theory (or theories) you are discussing in the essay (i.e., answer the expository part of the
question first). This should take up no more than 1/4th of your paper.
(4) Critically evaluate the theory by identifying its strengths and weaknesses. Does the theory have
maximum explanatory force? Is it clear and coherent? Is it well-argued? Are there good reasons to believe
that it is true? This should take up the majority of your paper.
(5) Conclusion: summarize what you have accomplished. “In this essay I have shown that…”
(b) Make sure that your essay is clearly-written. Will it be comprehensible to your readers? Is it free of
spelling, grammar, and punctuation errors?
(c) Make sure that your essay is in proper MLA format. If quotes or paraphrases are used, are these
properly cited?
(d) Make sure that your essay is coherent and well-organized. Does the essay avoid going off on tangents?
Does one paragraph logically flow into the next?