The purpose of a philosophy essay is essentially to present an argument. This consists in
defending the reasonableness of a statement, let's call it a thesis, by showing that it entertains logical relations logical relationships with other statements, let's call them premises or assumptions, which are themselves considered reasonable.
In order to design a philosophy essay, therefore, it is necessary to be clear about the thesis that one intends to defend, as well as the assumptions and related logical relationships that make it reasonable. The presentation of an argument of an argument in philosophy consists precisely in the explication of the logical relationships that exist between the assumptions and the thesis that one intends to defend.
There are many ways to defend a thesis, for example one can:
- present the assumptions that imply a particular statement;
- criticize a known claim in debate, bringing new reasons against it;
- defend a known assertion against known criticisms, showing that such criticisms are in fact not cogent;
- propose appropriate theoretical modifications to a known thesis in light of known criticisms that are deemed cogent;
- propose extensions to the application of a thesis through new premises and examples;
- discuss the unspoken consequences of a known thesis;
In general, it is possible to present an argument through two strategies:
(a) in the positive, i.e., defending a thesis from its relationships with other theses.
b) in the negative, i.e. showing that a particular thesis is not defensible and therefore must be rejected.
Strategy a) is certainly the most ambitious, but also the most difficult to pursue effectively. Presenting
a positive argument requires in fact that, in addition to the thesis one intends to defend, it is reasonable to assume also the premises that constitute the reasons on the basis of which that thesis is assumed. In some cases, especially if general theses are considered (e.g., we are free/we are not free; there is a world of objects/not a world of objects, the truth of the matter is not the same as the truth of the matter.
exists a world of objects, truth is correspondence/truth is coherence, etc.), it is frequent that the assumptions to be taken into consideration are many, some of which are not so many.
to be taken into account are many, some of which are controversial.
Presenting a positive argument therefore carries at least two risks: that all relevant assumptions and their logical relationship to the thesis to be defended are not considered; ii. that it is necessary to present arguments in turn. that it is necessary, in turn, to present arguments in support of the assumptions considered, triggering a
ii) that it is necessary in turn to present arguments in support of the assumptions being considered, triggering a backward process that is difficult to manage.
A useful tip in this case: it is better to avoid using positive arguments to defend general theses.
general. In order to defend a general thesis in positive, better to start from the defense of particular theses that at a later time, hopefully, they can be an argument for the general thesis, perhaps in
subsequent essays. After all, doing philosophy is a job that requires patience!
Strategy b) is limited to critical analysis and lacks a constructive part, so it is apparently the
less ambitious. It should be noted, however, that an essay must be able to be integrated within a debate already
It should be noted, however, that an essay must college essay writing service be able to be integrated into a debate that has already begun, which is why the critical analysis of existing proposals is of preliminary importance. If there are no
relevant flaws in the proposals present in the debate, then the debate could be considered concluded.
But a debate is interesting precisely when it is not concluded! Presenting a negative argument has the
purpose of presenting a negative argument is precisely to show that a particular thesis is wrong and therefore it cannot be part
of an accepted theory, so the debate cannot be concluded until the error is corrected.
A negative argument can be constructed in different ways. For example, by showing that given certain premises that are
acceptable premises, it does not follow from the thesis it is intended to criticize. Or by showing that although a particular thesis follows
from certain premises, those premises are not justified and therefore neither is the thesis. Furthermore, one can
argue by showing that the premises being considered are not essay for college, and that by considering
other premises, the resulting thesis would be different. A useful tip in this case: before
set up a negative argument it is essential to ascertain the logical structure of the argument that you intend to
address critically. The use of diagrams and formalizations can be a good idea. Once you have grasped the
Once you have grasped the structure of the argument you are analyzing, you can identify any critical elements and make them explicit.
It is therefore important to have chosen an argumentative strategy before beginning to write the essay. college essay writing service