Philosophy - Peer Dialogues

It's dialogue time!

For section 4 of your project, you will engage in a written or typed dialogue with a peer about your topic. The concept here is the idea that it’s important not only to have the courage of your convictions, but also the strength to have them challenged.

The two roles here are the “writer” and “responder.”

Here is the structure for today:

• Open a new Google Document. Create a name for it (“philosophy dialogue” perhaps) and share it with the person / people you will be working with today.
• I think it will also be helpful at this point to decide on a color or font for each person to use, so you can distinguish the different voices.
• Write an “opening statement.” This paragraph needs to include both your question and a general sense of how you are answering it at this point.
• Responder reads this statement and writes a paragraph that includes their answer to the question and reasons / justifications for it. 
•  Then, the responder will ask a question, trying to dig deeper into the beliefs of the writer. The responder may, but it not required, to use one of the following questions we've previously used to expand / focus philosophical questions:
• What are its assumptions and premises?
• What are its implications?
• What different types or contexts exist?
• When does / doesn’t it work?
• What do the specific terms mean?
• What are the reasons underlying the questions / answers?
• Who else shares this belief or perspective, and why?
• Writer now responds to this question with a combination of ideas, reasons, explanations, and examples. This should conclude with a question back to the responder.
• Dialogue continues this way for the rest of the period. 
• Both sides are encouraged to challenge the ideas and beliefs of the other person. The idea behind that is to push the writer’s thinking, to consider new possibilities, and to potentially reach new conclusions. 
• Feel free to add in personal stories or make up hypothetical situations ("would your beliefs hold true if...") - philosophy is always at its best and most challenging when it has to be specific and not just theoretical.
• You will be turning in this dialogue as is - the reflection on it will come in Part 5 as you link all of the sections together. Don't worry about the grade here - just have an authentic dialogue for the whole period.
• ** There are two ways to do this:
• Have both dialogues at the same time. 
• Do one dialogue at a time, spending roughly 25 minutes on each one
• Enjoy the opportunity to have a powerful, deep conversation!

Philosophy Project - Workin' It!

Ok, big work day ahead!
What will it be for you - Part 2 or Part 3?
Either way, I hope it is a productive one for you!
You can do it!

Philosophy Project - Seeing the next two weeks

Happy Monday!
Not many Mondays of high school left!
I hope you had a great weekend.

Please take a quick moment to complete this short survey:


For today, the goal is to get your head around your research strategy and the timetable of the next two weeks. We will meet in the computer lab every day and the time is entirely yours.

By now, hopefully you have written a significant portion of part 1. This will not only help you to clarify your question(s) and the (potential) focus of your work, but also give you more language to use when you are searching for a philosopher.  Identifying key terms is an essential step for successful research.

Thinking about the literary text you will use is also a priority item. The choice might be a clear one, or it might require going back to both the text and the essay(s) you wrote about it.  Your issue might not have been raised directly in the text, but for any of your questions there will certainly be something to work with in it.

Also, keep in mind that the dialogues will take place during class on Thursday / Friday. There is no special preparation you need to do for that day. You will write all of section 4 that day, so do not plan on having class time to do work on different sections.

Lastly, feel free to check in with me at any point during the process, either during class or my office hours. I'm happy to help you in any way I can!

May your thinking be filled with powerful thoughts and questions!

Philosophy Project - Resources for Part 3

Good morning!

The step of finding which philosopher you want to work with can be a challenge. However, once you learn to use the resources I've placed here, things should move along much more efficiently.

• Step 1 - Use the Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy or the Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy to read about what different philosopher have said about your subject.
• The key to making this a success is using the right "key words." You may find something right away with your original search terms. If not, read the articles and keep track of the words they are using to discuss the issue. Words like "metaphysics" or "epistemology" might not be the first ones you tried, but they may yield significantly better results!
• Step 2 - Find the actual text, including which section of it is relevant to your question. Under the "Resources" tab, I added a list of links to the philosophical texts I think will be used most often for this project. Also, on the right hand side, I added in a link to the Liberty Fund's Online Library - there are links there to just about any text you need.

Once you find the text, read it carefully - spend time with it - listen to what it has to say and how it makes its argument. Maybe it is totally different from the way you thought about these issues and opens up new possibilities for you. Maybe you completely disagree with it. There are many possibilities.

Your goal with section 3 is to bring the voice of your chosen philosopher(s) into your project. You are explaining and clarifying their ideas - summarizing the key points, showing the different parts of their argument, and highlighting key quotations. Later, in section 5, you will think and write about how it links to your project overall.

Happy reading, writing, and thinking!

Philosophy Project - Time to start thinking about literary connections

Greetings!
OK, so most of you have completed the question proposal and are well on your way into Part 1 - go you! Refer back to the previous post for ideas about how to keep pushing your thinking for Part 1, if you need.

What's next?  Part 2!
It is time to figure out which book(s) you will use for this section. Here is a reminder of what this section is all about:

• Explore the ways in which a work of literature we have studied (or multiple texts) address this question – what new aspects of it are introduced?  Does it agree or disagree with your take on the question?  How does the language of the author as well as the construction of the story communicate this?  Think of this section as a single-text analytic essay, with a working thesis.

So how can you get there? Try these steps:

1. Brainstorm by yourself or with a partner which books might fit into your question.
1. Oedipus / Antigone
2. Hamlet
3. The God of Small Things
4. Things Fall Apart
5. Life of Pi
6. The Stranger
7. Man's Search for Meaning
2. Look back at what you already wrote about these books - all of your essays - and my comments about them - should still be in turnitin.com
3. Note that it does not need to be an exact fit - it might be that a character(s) does / thinks something related to your topic in some way. It might actually expand your own thinking about your question (hopefully!)
4. Remember YOU do not appear in this section - you are keeping a critical distance and just talking about how your question appears in the book.

Philosophy Project - Let's Get It Started!

Happy Monday!

The top priority for today is to submit your question proposal. Again, the form is already in your Senior English folder in your Google Drive. Let me know when you've completed it and I will respond to it right away.

After that, take the time to review the assignment and this Planning and Expectations Guide - it names the step for each day and a suggested progression for the overall project. None of these are required check-ins. However, if at any time you want to show me what you've written or talk through it, or sit and discuss something you've read, let's make that happen.

Here are some suggestions to get started on Part 1 today:

• Tell a story or two about a time when this question played a role in your life, or had some bearing on your society.  
• Describe the ways in which you arrived at this meaning. 
• Who influenced you?
• Have your feelings about it changed?
• This section is personal, like a journal entry – tell stories, ask questions, be messy, explore your ideas.
• Think and write about the questions we have been using:
• 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, in the world) 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?

Exploring Philosophical Questions

Greetings!

I am out of town at a conference today - sorry I can't be there with you. Be sure to read through the end of these directions - they include details about your question proposal, which is due Monday (even if you won't be here).

Your task for today is to explore a variety of different philosophical questions, both as a way of thinking about Man's Search for Meaning and, more importantly, to move you towards your own selection of a question to be the basis of your project.

Here is a link to the document you will use today.

Here is a link to the different groups you will use today.

Step #1 - 20 minutes

• Sit together, near two computers, with the people in your #1 group
• The first person on the list will do the typing. Please create a Google Doc and share it with the members of your group and me.
• On the other computer, have the document open to "Part 1 - Questions from Frankl"
• You may want to print out copies of this page for your reference
• Go through the 15 statements - the are the ones you created earlier this week - and select three to discuss
• Talk through a statement for 2-3 minutes, noting interesting ideas and questions in the Google Doc
• Repeat with the next statements, continuing through the first 20 minutes of class.

Step #2 - 30 minutes

• Sit together, near two computers, with the people in your #2 group
• The last person on the list will do the typing. Please create a Google Doc and share it with the members of your group and me.
• On the other computer, have the document open to "Part 2 - Other questions - Agree – Disagree – I don’t know"
• You may want to print out copies of this page for your reference
• Go through the 18 statements and take a quick vote - how many people agree / disagree / don't know
• Record the results in the Google Doc
• Choose 4-5 to discuss
• at least one where there is a lot of agreement, and one where there is disagreement
• Talk through a statement for 2-3 minutes, noting interesting ideas and questions in the Google Doc
• Repeat with the next statements, continuing through the end of the period.

Step #3 - the rest of the document

• You'll see several lists of philosophical questions - any of these, or the ones you worked with earlier in sections 1 and 2, can serve as the philosophical question for your personal project.
• The final pages of the document are the list of questions we have used to refine philosophical questions we've discussed, as well as example of how to tighten / expand the focus of your question.
• Be sure to complete the question proposal form in your Google folder. I need to have it by Monday, even if you won't be here on that day (wink wink)
• Let me know if you have any questions!!

Launching the Philosophy Project

Here is a link to the handout describing the philosophy project.

Here is the slideshow I shared with you in class:

An Introduction to the Philosophy Project

Today I will share with you some of the basic information about you philosophy project, including:

• A revised schedule
• Period 1
• Period 6
• Period 7
• An overview of the project
• A question proposal form (I sent this to each of you in your Google Sr English folder)
• A slide show of 13 classic philosophical questions
• A list of the questions you generated based on Frankl's book
• Period 1
• Period 6
• Period 7

Man's Search for Meaning - Forming Philosophical Questions

Greetings!  I hope you enjoyed your weekend!

Today you can work with a partner to explore the next section of the book with the goal of understanding Frankl's story and naming the philosophical questions he suggests.

Here is a handout describing today's work.

Please be sure to share your Google Doc with me.

The Holocaust and Philosophy

To formally start our look at Frankl's book, I wanted to make sure we have a basic shared understanding of the Holocaust. Most of you have studied it in a variety of different ways.  I had you write down the word, followed by the first words / phrases / details that came to mind, and we shared these.

Next, I gave you a quotation from Elie Wiesel's Night:

"Never shall I forget that night, the first night in camp, which has turned my life into one long night, seven times cursed and seven times sealed. Never shall I forget that smoke. Never shall I forget the little faces of the children, whose bodies I saw turned into wreaths of smoke beneath a silent blue sky. Never shall I forget those flames which consumed my faith forever. Never shall I forget that nocturnal silence which deprived me, for all eternity, of the desire to live. Never shall I forget those moments which murdered my God and my soul and turned my dreams to dust. Never shall I forget these things, even if I am condemned to live as long as God Himself.  Never."


I had you select a phrase then write a few sentences exploring its ideas, then we read those aloud.

Lastly, we turned our attention to the start of the book. I had you read for about 10 minutes, then gave you these excerpts:

• How was everyday life in a concentration camp reflected in the mind of the average prisoner?
• ...the hard fight for existence which raged among the prisoners. This was an unrelenting struggle for daily bread and for life itself…
• Each prisoner, therefore, had had an opportunity to claim a fictitious name or profession; and for various reasons many did this.
• Any guard who wanted to make a charge against a prisoner just glanced at his number (and how we dreaded such glances!); he never asked for his name.
• We who have come back, by the aid of many lucky chances or miracles - whatever one may choose to call them - we know: the best of us did not return.
• But does a man who makes his observation while he himself is a prisoner possess the necessary detachment? Such detachment is granted to the outsider, but he is too far removed to make any statements of real value. Only the man inside knows.
• I saw that as an anonymous publication it would lose half its value, and that I must have the courage to state my convictions openly.

You chose one of these to write about and explore, thinking about what Frankl is saying both within his story and beyond it.

A first look at Philosophy - "I Believe" statements

Welcome back from spring break, and welcome to being a 4th quarter senior!

To start our unit (our last unit!) on Philosophy, you wrote several statements beginning with the phrase "I believe."  Then, I asked you to consider these questions as a way to probe around at different layers of meaning and interpretations of your statement:

Types of questions used to challenge and expand an existing question:

1. What are its assumptions and premises?
2. What are its implications?
1. If this is true, what else is?
3. What different types or contexts exist?
1. When does / doesn’t it work?
4. What do the specific terms mean?
5. What are the reasons underlying the questions / answers?
6. Who else shares this belief or perspective, and why?

You shared your writing about your statement in class - this is also an important step. I want you to have the confidence to both share your beliefs and be willing to engage in dialogue about them, to hear questions about them, and to be able to explain yourself.

** Be sure to own a copy of Man's Search for Meaning for class tomorrow!

Spring Break update - next (last!) book

Greetings!
I hope you are enjoying your spring break, wherever you and whatever you are doing! I just wanted to let you know you will need to purchase our next book, our last book together, right when we get back. It is called Man's Search For Meaning by Viktor Frankl. I know there are lots of copies of it at Half Price Books, in case you want to stop by there this weekend. See you soon - for 4th quarter of senior year!