Paper II Prompt
The second paper is due before midnight on Wednesday the 7th. Here is the prompt for the second paper.
Write 2 letters of about 350-500 words each (1 page each, single spaced, with the salutations, and you can skip lines between paragraphs, etc.). Write the letters in letter format. You can make up dates and locations, since the letters are really fictional. The options are: (a) to pick single thinker we have studied in the last few weeks such as Anselm, Aquinas, or Hume, and write a letter from him to you and a letter from you to him or her; or (b) to pick two thinkers and write a letter from one person to the other and a return letter.
Your overall task is to “get into the mind” of the thinker/thinkers–perhaps even thinkers with whom you disagree–in order to write FROM his or her standpoint. The letters should focus on just one main issue, question, or philosophical idea. The letters should aim to identify an important “shared belief” or an important “essential difference” between the two thinkers. Are there important differences that the thinkers need to identify between themselves, despite the fact that they share some important common beliefs? Are there important similarities, despite the fact that they seem to differ greatly?
The assignment will be graded according to a 3-fold standard:
- Does the writing show that the student has understood the author or authors he or she is writing about, or are there important misunderstandings of the topic or of the author? [ = 10 ]
- Does the student display a creative interest in the assignment? Does the student use new or interesting examples to make the thinkers’ ideas relevant and exciting? [ = 10 ]
- Does the student write generally well or poorly? [ = 5 ]
