The aim in this paper is to develop the first set of skills that are necessary in order to write critically on philosophical topics. Instead of focusing here on criticism, or on advancing your own argument, however, you’re first going to focus on providing a thorough and charitable reading of the text or texts that you’re working with. Providing a charitable reading means casting the argument in the best light possible. You want to depict the argument in a way that the author intends it. Focus on trying to make the argument as strong as it can be. A charitable reading is necessary before you can criticize any argument, because you need to make sure that the argument you’re criticizing is actually the argument that the author supports. It is this first skill, providing a thorough and charitable depiction of the author’s argument in your own words, that we’re focused on here.
Before turning your paper in, make sure that you’ve cited it properly. You may use any type of citation format, so long as you stick to the same format consistently throughout the paper. Failure to properly cite the appropriate sources is plagiarism and will be dealt with accordingly. If you’re unsure about what constitutes plagiarism, or how to properly cite your work, you can come speak to me about this. Alternatively, there are many online sources that you can reference, including this page from MLA (Links to an external site.).
Choose one of the following topics and respond to the prompt in approximately 3-4, double-spaced pages (12 pt. Times New Roman font). Please note that the page length is merely a suggestion – if your paper ends up being a little longer than 3-4 pages, you needn’t shorten it. If it ends up shorter than 3 pages, reconsider whether you’ve fully answered the question, but don’t add fluff or repeat yourself. Before beginning to write, see the “paper writing headquarters” page on Canvas with advice and guidelines on how to write successful philosophical papers.
Remember to read the attached rubric thoroughly before submitting your paper. I will grade everyone’s paper against this rubric. You will be graded on how accurately and charitably you portray the arguments, how thorough your description is, how well structured your sentences, paragraphs, and the paper as a whole is, the clarity of your language use, as well as basic mechanics of spelling and grammar and citations. All of these elements are important to a strong paper.
Describe Socrates’ argument, which spans the Euthyphro and the Apology, as to why he considers his philosophizing an act of piety. Consider the following questions:
How does Socrates understand philosophy? How does Socrates describe piety in each dialogue? In what sense does Socrates see himself as improving his fellow Athenians, and why might he think that the gods want him to do this? Support your description of Socrates view with quotations from the text, properly cited.
Milton Friedman advances a classical defense of the stockholder approach to business ethics. Describe in detail Friedman’s view. Consider the following questions: Why does Friedman think that the social responsibility of business is to increase its profits? Why are managers not qualified to use stockholder funds to advance various kinds of social causes? Then describe why Joseph Heath takes this view to be valid but underdeveloped. In what ways does Heath think that Friedman’s view needs to be expanded? What justifies the profit motive according to Heath? What sorts of legislation or regulation must be in place in order for the profit motive to operate how it ought to? For each thinker, support your interpretation with quotations from the text, properly cited.
