I turn to Blogger in the midst of a stressful finals week. I am writing my second philosophy paper of the day, finding more more why I put this type of work off so much. Writing a philosophy paper is like doing a math equation. And if there is one thing I hate, it is math. We are required to write within the boundaries of the sample outline distributed to us at the beginning of the year. The words that start the essay are always the same... "In this paper I will argue..." They end the same, too. "In this paper, I have argued..." You must repeat, repeat, and repeat every premise you state; pound that idea to the ground. If the reader didn't understand what you were arguing in the first place, by the end of that paper they had better have an idea.
Philosophy papers are one big question mark to me. Then again, so isn't the whole field of Philosophy. Philosophers can talk through anything inside out. They query everything from a higher power to the physicality of the ground we walk on. Is anything real? Are we really physical beings, or a network of thoughts? What? As I write a philosophy paper I can't help but question everything I am writing. Can't I just walk my teacher through the premise I have drawn on philosophy papers? "Humans are granted a certain degree of free will. I am a human. Consequently, I have the free will to choose not to hand in my paper." ... I will not pass the class if I don't hand in my paper, you say?
The thing is, I have drawn a second premise. "I do not presume that humans are physical beings. Humans are exclusively mental. My paper is thought up in my mind, and I have no physical means to present it to you."
Philosophy paper problem solved. Maybe Philosophy isn't so bad, after all.
