[Get Solution] Self-Directed Project
Self-Directed Project: For your project you will be required to research a topic in an area we have studied such as epistemology (unit 4), ethical theory (unit 11), philosophy of mind (unit 6), social theory (unit 10), etc. The main task of this assignment is to research the links that exist between the content of this class and different aspects of real-life such as criminal justice, the law, medicine, architecture, art, etc. To begin, focus on researching your college major (or meta-major/career path). Look for ways that philosophical topics bleed into this field. For example if your interest is in teaching, then you can begin researching on the philosophy of teaching to explore issues such as how people learn (philosophy of mind) or how the definition of truth may have to change in the context of teaching (epistemology). If youre a business major you can research things related to business ethics (ethical theory), the role of business in government (social theory), etc. Doing research here should involve reading academic journal articles rather than consulting websites. Your friendly librarian can teach you about how to access and search databases where journal articles are stored. Find at least one journal article from databases such as JSTOR (as well as others) to use as the basis for your paper. Do not use websites or online sources as a way to complete this requirement. Write a three page paper (750-1000 words) that explains the issue you have researched. Your paper should consist of three sections. Here is a basic outline to get you started: Section I Talk about the philosophical issue youre researching. This section should make explicit reference to the class readings. For example, if youre a science major and you want to write about environmental ethics, then talk a little about the ethical theory your paper draws. If your major is technology related, you can talk about free will vs. determinism with the idea of, perhaps, linking this to artificial intelligence in section II. Section II In this section you should incorporate the journal research you found. Explain the more specific real-world issue you want to talk about. For example, our hypothetical science major would explain a particular debate inside of environmental ethics (maybe the extent of our obligation to the environment). The journal essay she found would have different points of view backed up by quality reasoning. She would explain these different perspectives being careful not to insert her own opinion into the debate (yet). She would, however, incorporate the writing from section I so that ethical theory seamlessly flows into a discussion about environmental ethics. Our technology student would write about how we are getting closer to creating something that might count as A.I. But would it be free? Maybe he found an essay that discusses this. Section III In the final section you express your own point of view. Drawing from the material covered in the class and from any other secondary research you wish to include, defend a position that contributes to the debate from section II. Try not to make this a concluding paragraph/section. In other words, dont neglect this section by offering just a few lines or a single paragraph. Rather, offer concrete reasoning for the position you take based on evidence. This section should make up the bulk of your essay. Explain your point of view conscientiously and thoroughly. Our science major would therefore do this by bringing the debate in section II to a head. She would boil the issues down to a few main points and address them using quality reasoning (that references us back to section I). She would then end by showing how her conclusion isnt just an opinion but a rational and defensible point of view. The same goes for our technology person. He would argue that the A.I. isnt free (or is) and make heavy reference back to everything established in section I and II. Once again, he would argue for his own conclusion. Finally, Sections I, III, and III should be bookended by an introduction which quickly outlines the problem and states your thesis, and a conclusion, which summarizes your main findings, and restates your thesis. You must include a bibliography. In writing your paper it is expected that you will use careful philosophical analysis of the problem and argue convincingly for your conclusion. Please provide a bibliography for your essay at the end using either APA or MLA standards.
