Each journal should be written in Times New Roman, 12pt, single-spaced.
Each journal should be submitted through CANVAS.
There is a hard deadline for each journal. See the Syllabus. The journal should be submitted by 10 a.m. of that day.
Each journal consists of three parts. The three parts are: 1. Choice of two relevant passages. 2. Textual Analysis; 3. Personal Comments.
Each part of the journal should be clearly marked: start with “1. Choice of Two Relevant Passages,” move to “2. Textual Analysis,” conclude with “3. Personal Comments.”
- Choice of Two Relevant Passages
The first part of the journal consists in choosing two (2) short passages from the readings. You will have to copy and quote the two passages in the first part of your journal. The passages can be taken from one reading or from two different readings. Every time you have to write a journal, you can choose from the readings we have done up to that point.
N.B. You have to choose among the most recent readings. So, for instance, for journal #2 you can choose between Cahn, “Happiness and Immorality” and Foot, “The Rationality of Moral Action”, but you can’t select the two passages from the readings for journal #1, namely, Plato, Crito, and Cahn, “God and Morality.”
Please write each passage down in the first part of your journal. Quote each passage carefully as follows:
Steven M. Cahn. “God and Morality.” In Steven M. Cahn (ed.) Exploring Ethics: An Introductory Anthology (New York: Oxford University Press, 2017), p. # or pp. ##
How do I choose the two passages?
The criteria to choose the passages are: 1. Your interest: choose the passages that struck you the most, or that made you think. 2. Having things to say: since the second part (analysis) and the third part (comments and original contribution) of the journal are tied to the first part, choose the passages that can lead to a good analysis and passages based on which you can write something interesting. A poor choice of the passages (part one) will have undesirable effects on part two and part three of the journal. 3. Passages that are central in the reading: each reading has passages that are more important than other passages. The crucial passages are the passages that contain the most important ideas in the reading. They are the key-passages in the reading. Focusing on these passages is an advantage because they contain a lot of ideas to analyze and discuss.
- Textual Analysis (max 350 words)
The second part of the journal consists in a textual analysis of the two passages quoted in the first part. Textual analysis requires three steps essentially:
- Write down the key-words of each passage. The key-words must be explicitly contained in the passages you are analyzing. The number of key-words can vary from passage to passage. It’s up to you to detect the key-words of a certain passage.
N.B. If you have a hard time finding the key-words of a passage, it might be that the passage does not have much philosophical content. So, you are better off finding a different passage in the first place!
- Detect the main thesis/theses of each passage. Every important passage in a text ‘says’ something. Ask yourself: ‘What is the author trying to say in this passage?’ Most of the time, a writer uses many words to convey one idea or one thesis. Isolate the author’s main thesis/theses contained in a passage by using the author’s words. Thinking means being able to learn a new language. That is why learning a philosopher’s terminology is essential to thinking philosophically.
- Reformulate and Explain the author’s thesis/theses in your own words. Thinking also means being able to reformulate a certain thesis in a different language. Use your own words to reformulate and explain the author’s thesis. Reformulating and explaining are not the same thing: reformulating a thesis means saying the same thing in different words; explaining a thesis means finding the reasons supporting that thesis.
Try to be clear, precise, and concise, and don’t hesitate to use metaphors if needed.
How much can I rely on the lecture notes?
Feel free to rely on the notes from the lectures. Notes are particularly helpful to guide you to choose a passage with a relevant thesis to analyze. However, when you reformulate a thesis in your own words, you can’t simply use the language used in the lectures. If you use it, then you also have to explain it in your own words.
For instance:
“This passage from Plato’s Crito expresses the thesis that the Laws of the city should never be overturned etc.” (The thesis in Plato’s words.)
“Plato means that the Laws of the city are the most fundamental values that keep a community together. In this sense, they are not simply the rules codified in a juridical system, but they are also the most important values of a community.” (The thesis reformulated using the notes from the lectures)
“In other words, the Laws are what the people of a community care about the most and what makes a community what it is, namely, a group of people with a clear moral and cultural identity (The thesis reformulated in your own words).
Plato says this because … .” (Explanation)
- Personal Comments (max. 350 words)
The third part of the journal is the most creative part of the journal. In this third part you can express your own view on the ideas presented in part one and two. Try to think of how the philosophical ideas discussed apply to your own life. Try to give examples. Examples can be drawn from anything (literature, songs, movie scenes, TV shows, your own life, etc.). Remember: there are no stupid examples, everything can be interesting if treated with intelligence. Feel free. The point of the third part of the journal is to give you the possibility to engage with philosophical ideas freely and creatively.
Again, I encourage you to find examples to discuss in this third part of the journal.
This third part of the journal can be accompanied by photos (taken by you), images, link to articles or videos, etc.
While being creative, try to remain precise and concise. The connections between the texts you have analyzed and your personal comments must be explicit and clear.
In this third part you are also required to write about the problems that the texts leave unsolved or about the further questions that we would need to address in order to understand certain philosophical problems more deeply.
For instance:
“A big problem that is left unsolved by Plato is the following: if the Laws of the city must be respected unconditionally, how should we treat those legal systems that contain laws that are bad from the moral point of view, unjust, or even evil? Should we respect the Laws of the city also when they are bad laws? This is a big problem that Plato does not address. A solution of the problem should focus on the relationship between laws and the moral values at stake in those laws, etc.”
How do I know if my personal comments are good?
There are various ways to check that your personal comments are on target. 1. Make sure that the link between the ideas analyzed in the previous parts and your comments is explicit and clear. 2. Make sure to include examples. 3. Try to be original. 4. Make sure to conclude with questions and problems. N.B. The most important question you can ask is, ‘Am I adding something new to the ideas contained in the reading and in the lectures?’ If the answer is ‘Yes!,’ then you are on track! If the answer is ‘No,’ you should rewrite your personal comments.
How Are Journals Graded?
Total: 22 points
Grammar and Syntax: 2 points
Organization, Style, and Clarity: 5 points
Choice of relevant texts: 3 points
Textual analysis: 6 points (2 points for key-words; 2 points for detecting the thesis; 2 points for reformulating and explaining the thesis)
Personal comments: 6 points (2 points for depth and personality of comments; 2 points for originality and examples; 2 points for further questions and problems).
| Grammar and Syntax | /2 |
| Organization, Style, and Clarity | /5 |
| Choice of Relevant texts | /3 |
| Textual analysis: | |
| (a) Key-words | /2 |
| (b) Thesis | /2 |
| (c) Reformulation and Explan. | /2 |
| Personal Comments: | |
| (a) Depth and Personality | /2 |
| (b) Originality and Examples | /2 |
| (c) Further Questions and Prob. | /2 |
| Total /22 |
