- By the end of the period today you will submit your question proposal to me. Here is a link to the form with some very basic questions. The goal here is just to get the ball rolling and to give me a chance to engage in some conversation with you about your ideas. Please paste the form into a new google document, complete it, and submit it to me through turnitin.com. This is the easiest way for me to keep track of and respond to your work.
Today you will work on choosing the philosophical question (or assertion) that will become the focus of your essay. In your packet I gave you a series of possible questions to consider, as well as questions for you to use to expand and focus your thinking.
- click here for a digital copy of that handout
- click here for a link to the slideshow from class the other day
Here are some other resources from the web I've gathered. Browse through them today - see if anything catches your eye:
- 8 philosophical questions we'll never solve
- Rick Wayne's top 10 greatest philosophical questions of all time
- The ten big questions
- 10 Fundamental questions
- Philosophical theories and ideas
Once you have an idea you think you want to work with, I recommend doing some free-writing about it. This may form the basis of what you will write in section 1. You may want to use these questions we tested out when we discussed Frankl's book last week:
- What are its assumptions and premises?
- What is it assuming to be true?
- What conditions is it assuming to exist?
- What is it suggesting about the different people involved?
- What are its implications?
- If this is true then what else is true? Why?
- What different types or contexts exist?
- When does / doesn’t it work?
- What do the specific terms mean?
- Who else shares this belief or perspective, and why?
- Are there other people in the book who this does / doesn’t apply to? Why?
- Where do you stand in terms of this idea?
- Do you agree / disagree with it?
- Does it apply only in certain circumstances?
- Do you only accept parts of the idea?
Here are two examples of a brainstormed series of questions. One tries to narrow it down and sharpen the focus, while the other seeks to expand it.
How do I narrow down my question?
How do I make my question manageable and specific?
For example: What is
the meaning of life?
- Whose
life am I talking about?
- What
gives my life meaning?
- What
do I mean by “meaning”?
- What
can I do to give my life the kind of meaning that makes my spirit soar,
that makes me feel like I’m making this world a little better place to
live in?
- What
speaks for and against each of these perspectives?
- How
can I give my life the kind of meaning that makes my life worthwhile for
me?
How do I expand my question? How can I more thoroughly explore it?
For example: How can
we overcome alienation?
·
Is alienation something we always want to
overcome?
·
How does our life change for the better / worse
if we are alienated?
·
What are the different types or degrees of
alienation?
o Is
it possible to be completely alienated?
·
What exactly does alienation mean? What does it mean to overcome it?
·
Are we able to control being alienated?
·
Why would others want to alienate someone?
