Ethics 2000

Ethics 2000 2008

Introduction to Philosophy Paper Topics

Term Paper Introduction to Philosophy

Instructor: Dr. Jack Simmons

The paper may be written on any of the philosophers appearing in the textbook. The paper will be due on March 19-23. The papers will be graded based upon an oral examination. The paper must have the following elements:

Ø Maximum 5 pages typed, double spaced.

Ø A minimum of 2 references. References must be cited correctly.

Ø The paper must include quotations from all of the required references.

Ø Paper Topics:

§ Compare Descartes Meditations on First Philosophy to Jean Paul Sartre’s essay, “Existentialism is a Humanism.” How are they similar? How are they distinct? Find a philosophical basis for despair, abandonment or anguish in Descartes work. Explain

§ Compare Tucker’s characterization of Karl Marx’s communism to Jean Paul Sartre’s description of Existentialism and Marxism.

§ How does Kierkegaard refute Hegel, Feuerbach and Marx? Characterize this refutation with quotes from Kierkegaard.

§ How is Heidegger’s characterization of metaphysics different from Descartes? Use specific quotes from each text to demonstrate the difference.

§ Chose two philosophers from our books and show how their philosophy differs. Use specific quotes from the texts to demonstrate the differences. Then characterize these differences as an expression of two different philosophical traditions and explain why you think this characterization is accurate.

§ Chose one of the philosophers in our books and describe how one of the movies we have seen integrates that philosophy into the plot and character development. You will need to provide quotes from the text, and from the movie to support your claim. You will also need secondary sources to support your claim (so if you describe the Graduate as an expression of Karl Jasper’s existentialism, you will need to find a secondary source that supports your assertion.