PHIL 715: Seminar in Philosophical Writing
Dr. Julia R. Bursten
[email protected]
Fall 2015
Mondays, 7–9:45 p.m., HUMA 381
Office Hours: Tues. 10–11, Weds. 3:15–4:30
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Office: 443 HUMA
Course Description
The goal of this course is for students to become good writers of philosophy. As such, the course
is divided into three themes: (1) Good Philosophy, (2) Writing Philosophy, and (3) Good Writing.
The primary goal of Theme 1 is to identify and analyze patterns of argument in philosophical writing
and evaluate arguments for validity, soundness, and other criteria of philosophical merit. Theme
2 aims to employ argument analysis to read, interpret, and write philosophical essays. Theme 3
aims to construct productive research and writing habits, including but not limited to managing
references and developing effective writing schedules. These themes will run concurrently through
each seminar meeting, where you will practice identifying and interpreting arguments, critically
engaging with philosophical papers, and synthesizing these analytic skills into your own papers.
These papers, and the writing processes that produce them, will serve as stylistic templates for
your M.A. theses.
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Evaluation
You will be evaluated in the following 5 areas:
1. Argument Analysis (30%): You will complete 6 assignments to practice various stages of
analyzing and interpreting philosophical arguments.
(a) Thesis, Summary, Outline of “Eating Meat and Eating People” or “A Defense of Abortion,” due Aug. 31
(b) Thesis, Summary, Outline of “The Natural Ontological Attitude,” due Sept. 14
(c) Argument Reconstructions of Wax, Billiard, and Twin Earth arguments, due Sept. 21
(d) Outline and Reconstruction of “Real Patterns,” due Sept. 28
(e) Reconstruction and Analysis of Timaeus selection, due Oct. 5
(f) Annotated bibliography of 4 articles of your choice from your paper bibliography, due
Oct. 26
2. Seminar Paper (30%): You will develop a 10–12 page philosophical paper on a topic of
your choosing, in four stages:
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(a) Proposal (5%), due Oct. 12 : Identify a philosophical problem, formulate a thesis, and
collect a list of references
(b) Draft 1 (5%), due Saturday, Oct. 24 : Prepare a preliminary essay draft for peer review.
(c) Draft 2 (0%, but class presentation will not be permitted without it), due Saturdays
Oct. 31–Dec. 5 : Revise your paper in response to critical feedback. This will be the
draft used for your class presentation.
(d) Draft 3 (20%), due Dec. 10 : Prepare a final revision in response to presentation. This
will be the draft used for your model thesis proposal.
3. Work in Progress Workshop (15%), Oct. 26 : This is a peer review workshop, which
will be conducted in class or during another, mutually agreeable time during that week. Draft
1 of your paper must be emailed to your WIP group. WIP guidelines will be distributed in
class.
4. Class Presentation (15%), Nov. 2–Dec. 7 : During the final four weeks of the semester,
you will present Draft 2 to the class for further feedback. These will be formal presentations
where you will present for 15 minutes and respond to questions and comments for 15 minutes.
5. Model Thesis Proposal (10%), due Dec. 16 : In order to practice developing a seminar
paper into a thesis proposal, you will submit a model thesis proposal drawn from Draft 3 to
iLearn. Guidelines will be discussed in class.
There is no final exam for this course.
Grade Scale
A+ 98–100%
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B+ 87–90%
C+ 77–79%
A 94–97%
B 83–86%
C 73–76%
A- 91–93%
B- 80–82%
C- 70–72%
D 60–69%
F <60%
Policies and Resources
Classroom Community
This course involves active participation in discussions of potentially contentious issues. For these
discussions to be a success, all students must engage critically with the readings and with their
colleagues.
By entering any classroom and especially this one, you agree to participate in an intellectual community. This community encourages respectful disagreements that foster new knowledge
through the tools of critical thinking. This community does not tolerate disrespectful disagreements
that aim to attack a person’s character, ethnicity, religious beliefs, politics, gender, or other aspects
of personal identity.
Writing Center
A strong command of written English is necessary for graduate education and is expected in this
class. If you do not presently possess the composition skills required to write clear, organized, and
thoughtful essays in English, please see me during office hours. Further resources are available at
the SFSU Learning Assistance Center, https://www.sfsu.edu/~lac/index.html.
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Accessibility
Students with disabilities who need reasonable accommodations are encouraged to contact me.
The Disability Programs and Resource Center (DPRC) is available to faciliate the reasonable
accommodations process. The DPRC is located in the Student Service Building and can be reached
by telephone (voice/TTY) at 415-338-2472 or by email at [email protected].
Academic Integrity
You’re graduate students. You shouldn’t have to be told that plagiarism is a waste of my time
and your money. Information about the College of Liberal & Creative Arts policy and procedures
regarding plagiarism can be found at http://lca.sfsu.edu/faculty/plagiarism-resources
Extensions
As graduate students, you should also be prepared to manage your time so that you can get
assignments in before the deadline. You will learn strategies for doing so even more effectively over
the course of the semester. Extensions will be granted on a case-by-case basis for personal health
and family emergencies only. All other assignments will be graded down 50% for late submission.
Personal Disclosure
SF State fosters a campus free of sexual violence including sexual harassment, domestic violence,
dating violence, stalking, and/or any form of sex or gender discrimination. If you disclose a personal
experience as an SF State student, the course instructor is required to notify the Dean of Students.
To disclose any such violence confidentially, contact: The SAFE Place – (415) 338-2208; http:
//www.sfsu.edu/~safe_plc/ or Counseling and Psychological Services Center – (415) 338-2208;
http://psyservs.sfsu.edu/. For more information on your rights and available resources: http:
//titleix.sfsu.edu
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Schedule of Lectures and Readings
The textbook for this course is The Practice of Philosophy, by Jay Rosenberg (POP). You are
expected to acquire this text on your own. All other readings will be provided via iLearn. Readings
are listed in the suggested order of reading. Parenthetical items are optional further readings.
Additional background resources include Strunk and White’s Elements of Style and the Stanford
Encyclopedia of Philosophy, available at http://plato.stanford.edu.
Aug. 24: Introduction
• POP, Prospect and Ch. 13
Part I: Good Philosophy
Aug. 31
• POP Ch. 1–5
• Cora Diamond, “Eating Meat and Eating People” OR Judith Jarvis Thomson, “A Defense of Abortion”
Sept. 7: NO CLASS (Labor Day)
Sept 14
• POP, Ch. 7
• Arthur Fine, “The Natural Ontological Attitude”
Sept. 21
• POP Ch. 8
• Rene Descartes, wax argument
• David Hume, billiard ball argument
• Hilary Putnam, “The Meaning of ‘Meaning’ ”
Sept. 28
• POP Ch. 6 and 9
• Daniel Dennett, “Real Patterns”
• Bransford et al., “How Experts Differ from Novices”
Oct. 5
• POP Ch. 10–12
• Plato, Timaeus, Sections 53c–59a
Part II: Writing Philosophy
Oct. 12
• Nancy Sommers, “Revision Strategies of Student Writers and Experienced Adult Writers”
• Edmund Gettier, “Is Justified True Belief Knowledge?”
Oct. 19
• Joan Bolker, selections from Writing Your Dissertation in Fifteen Minutes a Day
• Alan Henry, “Productivity 101: A Primer to the Pomodoro Technique”
• Laura Vanderkam, “What You Need to Know to Create an Accountability Group that Works”
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Part III: Good Writing
Oct. 26
• Works In Progress Workshop
Nov. 2
• Presentations
Nov. 9
• Presentations
Nov. 16
• Presentations
Nov. 23: NO CLASS (Fall Break)
Nov. 30
• Presentations
Dec. 7
• Presentations
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PHIL 715 Reading/Assignment Schedule–Updated 9/30
WK
1
TOPIC
Introduction
DT
8/24
2
Engaging
Arguments
8/31
3
4
Argument
Patterns I:
Critical Modes
Argument
Patterns II:
Supplementary
Tools
9/14
9/21
5
Arguments to
Articles I
9/28
6
Arguments to
Articles II
10/5
7
Revision &
Writing Habits
10/12
8
Time &
Resource
Management
10/19
10
11
Work in
Progress
Workshop
Presentations
Presentations
12
Presentations
9
READING
POP, Prospect and Ch. 13
Part I: Good Philosophy
POP Ch. 1—5
Diamond, “Eating Meat and Eating People” OR
Thompson, “A Defense of Abortion”
NO CLASS 9/7: Labor Day
POP, Ch. 7
Fine, “The Natural Ontological Attitude”
POP Ch. 8
Descartes, wax argument
Hume, billiard ball argument
Putnam, “The Meaning of ‘Meaning’”
POP Ch. 6 and 9
Dennett, “Real Patterns”
Bransford et al., “How Experts Differ from
Novices”
POP Ch. 10–12
Plato, Timaues 53c–59a
Part II: Writing Philosophy
Sommers, “Revision Strategies of Student Writers
and Experienced Adult Writers”
Gettier, “Is Justified True Belief Knowledge?”
Bolker, selections from Writing Your Dissertation
in Fifteen Minutes a Day
Henry, “Productivity 101: A Primer to the
Pomodoro Technique”
Vanderkam, “What You Need to Know to Create
an Accountability Group that Works”
Part III: Good Writing
NOTES
Summary 1 Due
Withdraw Deadline 9/4
Summary 2 Due
Reconstruction 1 Due
Reconstruction 2 Due
Recons./Analysis Due
Paper Proposal Due
Annotated Bibliography
(4 entries) Due
10/26
Group Paper Reading
Draft 1 Due 10/24
11/2
11/9
Presentations
Presentations
Draft 2 Due 10/31–12/5
11/16
Presentations
13
Presentations
11/30
NO CLASS 11/23–11/27: Fall Recess
Presentations
14
Presentations
12/7
Presentations
Final Exam Period 12/12–12/18
HSS Conference 11/16–
11/19: Extra Credit
Opportunity
Draft 3 Due 12/10
Model Thesis Proposal
12/16