This presentation offers

1. Writing Philosophy Papers
Dr. Adam Auch, Dalhousie Writing Centre

2. What Makes Philosophical
Writing Different?
o The focus on reasoned argument
distinguishes philosophical writing from
other types of academic writing.
o Philosophy is all about thinking.
o And philosophical writing is all about
putting thoughts on the page.

3. What does Philosophical Writing
Look Like?
o Philosophers throughout history have expressed
their thoughts in a number of different ways:
o Prayers (Augustine/Anselm)
o Aphorisms (Nietzsche)
o Dialogues (Plato)
o Numbered Propositions (Wittgenstein)
o But for most modern philosophers (and students
of philosophy), the genre of choice is the formal
essay.

4. The Form of a Philosophical
Essay
o The form of a philosophical essay is
dictated by its argument.
o But generally, a philosophical essay must
have a beginning, middle and end.
o Beginning: An introduction- What you intend to
do
o Body: Your fully fleshed-out argument
o Conclusion: A recap of what you have
done/argued

5. Varieties of Philosophical
Essays
o Argumentative essay
o The author argues for a particular claim or opinion
o Exegetical essay
o The author summarizes or reconstructs another
writer‟s argument.
o Response essay
o The author evaluates and responds to another writer‟s
arguments
o Some essays involve doing some or all of these.

6. Argumentative Essays
o Here, the key is to establish a particular claim or
opinion.
o The essay takes the form of an argument with
this claim as its conclusion.
o As the writer of this essay, your job is to provide
reasons why we should accept this claim.
o For example: “Canadian drug laws should be
amended to allow the legalization of marijuana
because…”
o Be as specific as possible in your reasons and
your examples.

7. Getting Started- Reading the
Assignment
o Before beginning to write, be sure to read
over the assignment carefully.
o Are you being asked to answer a specific
question?
o What kind of essay are you supposed to write?
o How long is your essay supposed to be?
o Are there any special requirements you need
to fulfill?

8. Getting Started- Developing a
Thesis
o Think about the questions being asked.
How would you answer them?
o What arguments do you need to show that
they are true?
o Write out your answers in a couple of
sentences.
o This will be your provisional thesis
statement. Keep it in mind as you write.

9. Getting Started- Another
Method
o For 10-15 minutes, try to write out everything you
know about the topic in question. DO NOT EDIT.
o Once you‟ve finished, read over what you‟ve
written.
o Are there any recurring themes/concepts?
o What would you say is the most important claim you
make?
o This will be your provisional thesis statement.

10. Getting Ready to Write
o Look at your provisional thesis statement:
o Is it one big claim? Or a claim with a number of sub-
claims?
o Does it contain any terms that you need to define?
o Does your thesis rely on other claims?
o What are they? How would you go about establishing them?
o What is your argument? Does it have a number of
stages to it? What are they?

11. Developing Your Argument
o For each sub-claim or argument-
stage, write a paragraph that covers
everything you want your reader to know
about it.
o Think about how these paragraphs fit
together:
o Which paragraph should go first. Which should
go second?
o How do the discussions in these paragraphs
relate to your overall argument?

12. Objections and Replies
o Philosophical writing is a kind of conversation.
o The issues you are considering are complex.
o Try to anticipate what people who disagree with
your position might say.
o Might they disagree with your thesis? Or one of
your premises? Both?
o Does your conclusion have troubling
implications?
o What reasons might they have for their
position?

13. Example of an Objection:
It might be objected that my argument for
legalizing marijuana in Canada could be applied
to other currently illegal drugs. While the effects
of marijuana on health are relatively
innocuous, the objection goes, those of harder
drugs such as heroin are not. As such, the
benefits of a less stringent drug law enforcement
program would be undercut by the public health
costs generated by the increased use of these
harder drugs...

14. Objections and Replies
o Try to develop the objection in as much detail as
possible (don't just write a sentence about it and
move on).
o Be fair! (Is this a position someone would
plausibly take? Don't use “straw-people”)
o Think about this as a way of using a contrary
position to explain a premise of your own
argument.
o By replying to the objection, you are spelling out
exactly why you think your position is the correct
one.

15. Example of Replies
First of all, while I agree that there is a difference in the
health of those who use marijuana and those who use
harder drugs, there is no reason to believe that the
liberalization of drug laws would lead to an increased
use in hard drugs...
Secondly, and more importantly, I think it is possible to
amend my proposal to allow the legalization of
marijuana while maintaining the prohibition on harder
drugs (such as heroin)...

16. Revising- General
o Once you‟ve organized your paragraphs, read
over the entire essay.
o Have you said everything you wanted to say?
o Is your argument complete? Or do you need to
add some premises?
o Is the argument you make in your paper the
same as the one laid out in your provisional
thesis statement?
o If not, then you should revise your thesis to fit your
argument.

17. Revising- Paragraphs
o Now do the same thing for each paragraph.
o What is the single claim („Bumper Sticker‟, „T-shirt
slogan‟) that you want to establish.
o Read each sentence: Does it help to establish the
claim? Or could it be removed without damaging your
argument.
o Is your argument complete? Or do you need to add
something else?
o Are you making specific claims? Or are you using
purely general language (“there are a number of
factors involved in this issue”).

18. A Few Words of Style Advice
o Watch out for technical philosophical language.
o For example: „logical‟, „valid‟, „sound‟, „begs the
question‟
o Use gender neutral language.
o Don‟t be afraid to use the First Person ('I') when
making your argument.
o You are expressing your opinions. Don‟t be afraid to
take ownership.
o Use 'sign-posting' language to let your reader know
where you are in your argument:
o For example, “First of all..”; “My first claim is that..”;
“My reply to the first objection is...”

19. Style Advice- Continued
o Avoid using rhetorical questions.
o You are usually working under a word limit.
Such questions take up valuable space!
o Whenever possible, use plain, easy to
understand language.
o Remember, you are trying to be as clear as
possible

20. Citations
o Citations play two different roles in
philosophical essays:
o 1) They help one demonstrate intellectual
honesty;
o 2) They provide a bridge between one‟s
paper and other papers written on the
subject.

21. Citations- Continued
o Cite all direct quotes and all paraphrases.
o Cite in-text by indicating the author, date and
page # in round brackets immediately after the
sentence containing the passage or paraphrase.
In APA style, this citation would appear as
follows: The author argues
that….(Williams,1985, p. 45).
o Use direct quotes sparingly (or don‟t use them at
all)-- Only use them in cases when the exact
wording of a sentence is important, or when the
author you are citing has put things especially
well.

22. Citations
o Different professors have different
preferred citation styles. Be sure to ask if
you are unsure.
o Be aware that the APA and MLA have
updated their style guides. Be sure to ask
which edition the prof wants.
o When in doubt: BE AS CONSISTENT AS
POSSIBLE.

23. Online Citation Guides
o Citation style guides are available for free on the library
website
o APA:
http://www.library.dal.ca/Files/How_do_I/pdf/apa_style6.pdf
o MLA:
http://www.library.dal.ca/Files/How_do_I/pdf/mla_style7.pdf

24. Other Citation Resources
o The English Department @ Purdue has
put together a very detailed guide to
formatting and citations:
o http://owl.english.purdue.edu/
o You can also ask detailed questions about
proper citation at the Dalhousie Writing
Centre or refer to the Dal LibGuide at
http://dal.ca.libguides.com/writingcentre

25. Seeking Help
o If you have questions about the assignment, the
material, or the writing process do not be afraid
to ask for help.
o From the Professor
o From the TA
o From the Writing Centre
oKillam Library-- Learning Commons
o494-1963
oEmail: writingcentre@dal.ca
oLibGuide: http://dal.ca.libguides.com/writingcentre
oWebsite: http://writingcentre.dal.ca