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| Preface: A Users' Guide | |
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| A Note to Instructors | |
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| A Note to Students | |
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| Acknowledgments | |
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| Glossary of Philosophical Terms | |
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| Writing Philosophy | |
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| Writing a Philosophy Paper | |
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| What is a Philosophy Paper Supposed to Accomplish? | |
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| Choosing a Topic | |
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| Moving through Drafts | |
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| The Only Outline You Need is a Sketch of the Argument You Plan to Make | |
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| The Cardinal Virtues: Logical Rigor and Clarity of Expression | |
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| A Checklist for Spotting Problems Early | |
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| Philosophical Writing Advances a Thesis with an Argument | |
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| Consuming Arguments | |
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| What is an argument? | |
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| How is a philosopher's argument to be recognized? | |
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| The principle of charity | |
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| How is an argument to be criticized? | |
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| Producing Arguments | |
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| A clearly stated, tightly focused thesis is essential | |
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| The introduction states why you wrote the paper and why your audience should read it | |
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| The body of your paper follows a strategy to demonstrate your thesis | |
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| Consider objections to your view | |
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| The conclusion of your paper explains the conclusion of your argument | |
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| On words that indicate conclusions and premises | |
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| Provide justification for every important claim | |
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| What makes an argument philosophically interesting? | |
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| The Rudiments of Academic Writing | |
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| Elements of Style | |
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| Use the first-person, active voice | |
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| Avoid using a conversational tone | |
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| The paper should have a title | |
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| Pages should be numbered | |
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| The correct use of punctuation | |
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| The correct use of Latin abbreviations | |
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| The correct use of Latin expressions | |
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| The consistent use of pronouns | |
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| Grammatical errors | |
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| Using a term vs. mentioning it | |
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| How to edit or add text within a quotation | |
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| Elements of Substance | |
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| Avoid mere rhetoric: philosophy is not forensics | |
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| Avoid using five-star vocabulary words | |
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| The standard of precision in written discourse | |
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| On expressions such as "It is clear that..." | |
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| Use accurate terms having clear referents | |
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| Always look for the contrast term | |
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| Watch out for mysterious agents | |
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| Substantive Advice | |
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| Never quote the instructor | |
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| Never quote the dictionary | |
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| A Few Frequently Misused Terms | |
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| Philosophy vs. view vs. opinion | |
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| Concept vs. conception | |
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| Think vs. feel | |
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| Statement vs. argument | |
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| Sound, valid, and true | |
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| Explaining Philosophical Texts | |
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| Make sense out of the text as a whole | |
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| Make sense out of the main arguments in a text | |
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| Every quotation requires explanation | |
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| Every quotation requires specific attribution | |
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| The consistent and meaningful use of technical terminology | |
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| The Rudiments of Academic Research | |
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| Use the library, not the Web | |
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| Primary sources are your primary responsibility | |
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| What kind of secondary sources should be used and how? | |
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| Doing Philosophy | |
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| Academic Integrity | |
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| Know Your School's Honor Code and its Policies Regarding Plagiarism | |
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| What is Plagiarism? | |
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| How to Avoid Plagiarism | |
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| Proper Attribution Bolsters One's Scholarly Credibility | |
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| Cheaters are Likely to be Caught | |
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| How to Succeed in a Philosophy Course | |
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| Practice the Intellectual Virtues | |
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| Come to Class Prepared | |
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| Ask Substantive Questions | |
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| Respect the Arduous Process of Careful Reading and Writing | |
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| Why is Philosophy So Hard to Do? | |
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| Why is Philosophy So Hard to Read? | |
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| On the Critical Nature of Philosophy and a Few Myths it is Useful to Discard | |
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| What Does it Mean to Do Philosophy? | |
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| Philosophers Inquire into Our Concepts and Commitments | |
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| Philosophy Explicates What is Implicit in Our Concepts and Commitments | |
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| Philosophical Reflection and the Public Use of Reason | |
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| Keywords Cross-Referenced to Section Numbers | |
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| References | |
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| Index | |