Introduction to Writing in Philosophy
Why Write a Philosophy Paper?
Writing in philosophy requires you to make reasoned arguments. An argument is a group of statements that support or establish a point through evidence and reasoning. For your assignments in philosophy, you will be analyzing and assessing the arguments put forth by the authors you read, and developing arguments of your own. Producing an argument in support of the claims you wish to make shows your understanding of the material and your ability to think critically about that material and about the issues it covers. It is essential to support any claim you make with examples from your research and/or analysis of the text.
Note: You may be familiar with a different meaning of the term 'argument': a verbal dispute or discussion among people. This is NOT the meaning of the term that is used in philosophy. In philosophy, an argument is a group of statements (often called 'premises') that support or establish a point or claim (the 'conclusion').