There are 6 (specific) requirements which must be fulfilled. However, you are ultimately responsible for choosing the topic and direction of your essay. There are obviously general requirements of any argumentative paper but I will add a rubric outline for argumentative papers below.
If you muck up one of these, then expects big points off of your paper:
1. Find a movie, short story, documentary, or complex news item (not a one-page article but only investigative or in-depth pieces, check with me if you are unsure) to base your analysis around and focus your thesis.
I have given you a few suggestions: the movie “Her” for philo of mind or personal identity and “Minority Report” for free will.
2. You must present a philosophy of mind, personal identity, philosophy of religion, or free will topic. The purpose is to argue/explain, for example, a theory in the philosophy of mind or personal identity in terms of the movie Her”. Examples: Functionalism, Substance Dualism, Memory Theory, etc¦ In this case, you would be arguing that the character Sam is a mind or how to interpret Sam as a person over time as a way to make the case that the theory you are advancing/argueing for is the best answer to the mind-body problem.
3. Include an objection to your view. Some possibilities:
Could there be another theory that best explains our intuitions about thought experiments in the movie/show?
Does your theory lead to some absurd consequences whether in real life or via the movies world?
Is there a possible way to develop a contrasting view of the OSes from the behavior of one of the characters?
4. Include discussions of the thought experiments, ideas, philosophers found in the textbook and links given to you by the prof.
5. You must include one secondary source and provide a full works-cited page. (This means citing the articles we used IN CLASS, from the research, the textbook, and EC work). This also means you SHOULD be using the course material to help make your case in addition to the secondary source from the textbook.
6. Word Minimum: Roughly 1500 -1800 words (MINIMUM). It is permissible to go over the 1800 words if needed (no excuses about not knowing you could write more to fulfill the tasks).
