Descartes, Plato, Taylor, and Rousseau
Paper Topic: Compare and contrast Plato and Descartes. Is contact with another necessary or beneficial for learning or is she a hindrance?
I. The introductory paragraph should include the following. The first two items must be given in that order. You can reorder the last three components but all of them must appear in the introduction. The introduction should be 1 page long.
A hook: why this topic would be important or interesting to readers?
A thesis: the point for which you will argue.
A brief explanation (one sentence) of the counterpoint: the position with which you do not agree or stands in contrast to the position that you will argue.
A reason that shows a flaw or weakness of the counterpoint.
A reason to support your own thesis. Why is your position stronger or more helpful than the counterpoint?
II. Body of the paper
A more thorough explanation of the counterpoint (points I 3 and I 4 above). This should be 1 1/2 pages long.
A more thorough explanation of I 5. This should be 1 1/2 pages long.
III. Conclusion: This should explain how this topic is relevant to contemporary life through a pertinent example. This should be 1 page long. For example, recall how I asked you to explain Descartes in conjunction with sexism and racism. (The thrust of Descartes’ proof is that what we think can be accurate or inaccurate representations of the the world. In other words, everything we know is filtered through the mind. How does this help to explain racism, sexism, or other types of prejudice?)
Other required elements: One quote from either Plato or Descartes with proper citation. One paraphrase of Plato or Descartes’ ideas with proper citation. There should be one of each. One quote from Plato and paraphrase of Descartes or vice versa. The maximum number of quotes and paraphrases total should equal 5. For instance, students can have 3 quotes and 2 paraphrases total.
You can simply cite work like the following: (Plato, Cave, 515) or (Descartes, First Meditation, 2).
You should also include the philosophies of Charles Taylor and Rousseau in this paper. How do their works help you to think about learning from others or on your own? By this point, you should have a thesis that makes it clear if you agree more with Plato or Descartes. Taylor and Rousseau have differing opinions. One can be seen as having a more similar position to Plato and the other to Rousseau. Use the work of Taylor and Rousseau to make your paper longer and your position stronger. You should use quotes or paraphrases, in addition to the ones from Descartes and Plato, to improve your argument. You must include quotes and paraphrases from Taylor and both of Rousseau’s text (provided by me). This paper should be 10 pages long. Using sources that I have not provided in this paper will result in a zero for the assignment for me.
NOTE: PLEASE USE ONLY THE ATTACHED SOURCES TO CITE ANY QUOTES FROM. PLEASE DO NOT USE ANY OUTSIDE SOURCES THAT ARE NOT IN THE FILES I ATTACHED. IF THE INFORMATION IS NOT MENTIONED OR WRITTEN IN THE READINGS I AM ATTACHING PLEASE DO NOT USE IT.
I also do not need a work cited page so do not worry about that.
