Philosophical Writing : An Introduction.
- 1st ed.
- 1 online resource (236 pages)
- New York Academy of Sciences Series .
- New York Academy of Sciences Series .
Intro -- Philosophical Writing -- Contents -- Note to the Fourth Edition -- Note to the Third Edition -- Note to the Second Edition -- Introduction -- 1 Author and Audience -- 1 The Professor as Audience -- 2 The Student as Author -- 3 Three Attitudes about Philosophical Method -- 2 Logic and Argument for Writing -- 1 What is a Good Argument? -- 2 Valid Arguments -- 3 Cogent Arguments -- 4 Quantification and Modality -- 5 Consistency and Contradiction -- 6 Contraries and Contradictories -- 7 The Strength of a Proposition -- 3 The Structure of a Philosophical Essay -- 1 An Outline of the Structure of a Philosophical Essay -- 2 Anatomy of an Essay -- 3 Another Essay -- 4 Composing -- 1 How to Select an Essay Topic -- 2 Techniques for Composing -- 3 Outlining -- 4 The Rhetoric of Philosophical Writing -- 5 Successive Elaboration -- 6 Conceptual Note Taking -- 7 Research and Composing -- 8 Sentences and Paragraphs -- 9 Polishing -- 10 Evolution of an Essay -- 5 Tactics for Analytic Writing -- 1 Definitions -- 2 Distinctions -- 3 Analysis -- 4 Dilemmas -- 5 Scenarios -- 6 Counterexamples -- 7 Reductio ad Absurdum -- 8 Dialectical Reasoning -- 6 Some Constraints on Content -- 1 The Pursuit of Truth -- 2 The Use of Authority -- 3 The Burden of Proof -- 7 Some Goals of Form -- 1 Coherence -- 2 Clarity -- 3 Conciseness -- 4 Rigor -- 8 Problems with Introductions -- 1 Slip Sliding Away -- 2 The Tail Wagging the Dog -- 3 The Running Start -- 9 How to Read a Philosophical Work -- 1 Find the Thesis Sentence -- 2 Precision of Words, Phrases, and Sentences -- 3 Proving the Case -- Appendix A: "It's Sunday Night and I Have an Essay Due Monday Morning" -- Appendix B: How to Study for a Test -- Appendix C: Research: Notes, Citations, and References -- Appendix D: Philosophy Resources on the Internet, by Neil Sinhababu -- Appendix E: On Grading. Appendix F: Glossary of Philosophical Terms -- Index -- EULA.