Write a 6-8 page double-spaced paper arguing for or against the following claims: 6. “The moral life overrides the good life” (Thomas Nagel, The View from Nowhere, Chapter X: “Living Right and Living Well”, p. 196). Some guidelines 1) Present arguments for or against your claim. Do not merely state your views, but support your views with arguments. Defend your views by considering possible objections to your views and arguments, and then show how these objections can be answered. 2) Write clearly. Write so that an intelligent person who is unfamiliar with the readings can understand everything you say. For example, if the claim you are arguing for or against is somewhat difficult to understand, then explain it. Avoid ambiguous and obscure expressions. Clarity is especially important in philosophical writing; if the reader does not understand exactly what you are saying, then she cannot evaluate your argument. 3) The paper should be organized appropriately. Remember, you are presenting an argument; you are not, for example, merely summarizing the reading. You will probably find it useful to discuss various parts of the readings in your paper and/or to discuss what was said in lecture or class discussion, but when you do so, it should be in the context of presenting an argument. Your paper has a purpose–presenting an argument–and everything you say in the paper should contribute in some systematic way to that purpose. One possible way to organize your paper is the following. First, explain clearly what the claim is that you are going to discuss. Second, tell the reader what your position is with regard to this claim. Third, provide detailed reasons and arguments to support your position. Fourth, examine possible objections to your position. Fifth, explain how these objections can be answered. Finally, briefly summarize your conclusions. 4) The paper should show that you have spent some time thinking about the issues raised in your paper. You do not want merely to repeat arguments presented in readings, lecture, or class discussion; rather, you want to think critically about these arguments and take them a step further. For example, think of objections to these arguments that we have not discussed, or if some argument has been criticized in lecture or class discussion, think of some way to respond to this criticism. Or come up with your own arguments in support of or in criticism of the claim that you are addressing in your paper.
