The print version of … Writing Philosophy: A Student's Guide to Reading and Writing Philosophy Essays Complete Writing Philosophy: A Student's Guide to Reading and Writing Philosophy Essays, Second Edition, is a concise, self-guided manual that covers how to read philosophy and the basics of argumentative essay writing. Be empathetic: after you come up with some possible criticism, imagine taking the role of your opponent and try to answer your criticisms. When reading, set realistic goals. Once you've skimmed the piece, you'll be better equipped to dive in and read the entire text intelligently. It isn't always easy to find friends interesting in discussing philosophy at length — but often other members of your class will be willing to talk about the content of assignments. Writing Philosophy: A Student's Guide to Reading and Writing Philosophy Essays, Second Edition, is a concise, self-guided manual that covers how to read philosophy and the basics of argumentative essay writing. 3. Which goals one has influences how one should read. This article has been viewed 32,079 times. How Should You Write a Philosophy Essay Body? One of the best ways to understand and analyze a philosophical piece is to discuss it with others. What excites me so much about reading philosophy is the opportunity to have … Please help us continue to provide you with our trusted how-to guides and videos for free by whitelisting wikiHow on your ad blocker. To create this article, 14 people, some anonymous, worked to edit and improve it over time. Explain and support your thesis. Your introduction is important because it gives readers a first impression of your paper. It is ungrammatical, unclear, choppy, or just too difficult to follow. Expressing your thoughts is an excellent way of discovering what they really are. For example, you read through your notes and realize that you spend a good deal of time writing about your interest in mentoring students. Include your email address to get a message when this question is answered. Andrea Borghini, Ph.D., is a professor of philosophy at the University of Milan, Italy. Capturing your thoughts quickly is vital to being a philosopher and writer, lest you lose it. Before actually starting to read, skim the paper to get a sense of the main point the author is trying to make and the structure of the piece. One case of awkward writing is not using your own words. wikiHow is where trusted research and expert knowledge come together. The problem —perhaps— is that our understanding is used to more practical or technical discourses, and we tend to forget that theoretical forms of thought are different.And yet this type of reflection is still important. Thanks to all authors for creating a page that has been read 32,079 times. % of people told us that this article helped them. If you're reading for a class, you'll almost certainly be asked to write or speak about your response to the writer's argument. Philosophical criticism does not typically go well with speed-thinking. There should be a logical progression of ideas - one that will be easy for the reader to follow. In addition to differences in types of philosophical writing, there are differences in the goals one might have when reading philosophy. result of this is a paper that's hard to read, and which is full of inadequately defended and poorly explained claims. This exercise can improve your understanding of a philosophical text dramatically, showing you viewpoints that were not clear to you before. I. Awkwardness. How to write a philosophy book - the monograph as laboratory. Cultivate Philosophical Empathy and Self-Criticism, Stoics and Moral Philosophy - The 8 Principles of Stoicism, René Descartes' "Proofs of God's Existence", The 5 Great Schools of Ancient Greek Philosophy, Moral Philosophy According to Immanuel Kant, B.A., Philosophy, University of Florence, Italy. When you read a philosophical piece you are reading the opinion of an author who is trying to persuade you of the plausibility or implausibility of a position. Philosophical writings are dense and difficult. Try also to get a sense also of the weakest points in the overall piece. Write to learn. good, bad, … Don’t try to introduce your argument within a grand historical narrative, for example. Dedicate time regularly to both writing and thinking. Bear in mind that when you are reading philosophy what you are actually doing is trying to understand a piece of writing. Prepare a draft of your paper. Awkward writing makes the reader uncomfortable. Can you give me a good list of books. By using our site, you agree to our. As you're reading, look for flaws in the writer's argument, and mark them. Present your argument and make sure you use the main points so that the reader can have the interest in reading more. The introduction is your chance to grab your readers’ attention and to provide a preview of your argument. If it's an essay, read the first and last paragraphs in their entirety. There is more than one way to skin a cat; there is also more than one way to write a philosophical work. Start with Idiot's Guide to Philosophy and go from there. If your paper is well organized, the reader will be led along in what seems a natural way. Before you start to write make an outline of how you want to argue. Before you write a paper, though, you need to understand the course texts and recommended readings. First of all, a bit of context. While reading a page of a novel can take as little as thirty seconds, some pages in philosophy require at least ten minutes or even more. So don't be over-ambitious. The best way to start would to be to write down your basic beliefs in a philosophical statement (i.e. You can also use the introduction to explain any explanations you expect to use while backing up your thesis and how they are connected to your argument. Before actually starting to read, skim the paper to get a sense of the main … This is akin to putting a jigsaw puzzle together; some pieces will fit and others won't. A book project is like building a little planet of words from scratch. A typical place to start would be with Plato and Aristotle then move to the Rationalists and Empiricists and so on, but you'll get a good overview with the Idiot's Guide and then you can figure out what you want to follow up on. Will you buy the author's position? Organize carefully. Together, you may come to conclusions you wouldn't have thought of on your own. You should then discuss what it says about your attitudes toward teaching, learning, and what's important in your discipline. If you are a reader, you would like to read that you can understand without ... Introduction of your paper. Don't spend to much time writing and thinking otherwise your performance will go down and the quality of your writing. Before I start writing, I want to read some books about philosophy. What Is the Main Point? As you are sorting and fine-tuning your critical remarks, double-check the text to refresh your memory, sharpen your thoughts, and make sure you properly interpreted the author. My basic beliefs are: x,y,z). Introduce your paper with relevant details. State your thesis clearly and concisely in your introduction so that your reader understands what your paper sets out to achieve. Writing philosophy is challenging. His research focuses on metaphysics, ethics, and philosophy of biology. To build great philosophical reading skills you'll need to cultivate some philosophical empathy and self-criticism. Philosophy texts involve a certain kind of gravity.Reading Aristotle, Kant or Descartes is not easy, never mind tackling Heidegger or Hegel. If it's a book, look at the table of contents and go through the opening remarks. Writing Philosophy.