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        Guidelines For Reading Philosophy

by: Prof. Kevin Galvin 

PHASE I - What the author said

  DEFINITIONS of terms and concepts

Philosophical essays generally involve conceptual clarification. You need to be alert to terms and definitions. One of the oldest axioms in philosophy urges us to "define our terms". In your initial reading try to distinguish between key concepts that are important to the author's point and new vocabulary or terms that are unknown to you. Whenever the author presents you with a definition or an example that serves to define a concept try to make a note of this term. You will wind up with two lists of terms: key concepts and new vocabulary.

  THE STRUCTURE OF THE AUTHOR'S ARGUMENT

After you have read the text, try to discover the author's plan. Look at the essay as a whole - how does the author go about her business? Why is the essay effective? What rhetorical devices does the author use in this essay? What is the architecture or structure of the essay? Here is a short (but not exhaustive) list of some possible structures:

  Observations leading to hypothesis.
  Reasons and evidence in support of a claim or philosophical position.
  Key examples drawn from personal experience that support a position.
  Summarizing a philosophical position or viewpoint and drawing attention to problems and difficulties inherent in this view.
  Drawing out the consequences of the way in which we understand troublesome concepts (truth/beauty/goodness) and recommending a solution.

Try to draw a diagram, map, picture, or sketch of the movements of the essay. Sometimes nonverbal outlines are helpful in describing the structure of an essay. Try to get an overview of the essay.

  THE MAIN POINT

State in your own words, or better yet, find a passage in the text where the author states her thesis. In brief, what is the author's message. Ask yourself: "What question does this essay attempt to resolve"? Sometimes the author saves us the trouble and shares her main idea in the very title of the work. What is the title of this essay? Why did the author chose this title?

PHASE II - WHAT I THINK ABOUT THIS / EVALUATION BASED ON REASONS

 

  MAJOR THEMES/CLAIMS

State the essential points of the author's presentation. Pull out, if you will, the claims, recommendations or conclusions put forward by the author. Quote from the text whenever possible. Every paragraph has a topic sentence, so there will be as many claims as paragraphs. Of course, not every claim is important. You will need to decide which claims are worth noting. As a general rule you should find, on average, one claim for every page of text. This section is the heart of your summary, take your time and strive for completeness.

  PLAUSIBILITY/STRENGTH OF EVIDENCE

Take the list of claims from the section above. How well established do you consider the author’s conclusions? Rate each proposition according to the following scale:

  1. very solid,
  2. solid,
  3. plausible,
  4. suggestive,
  5. improbable,
  6. very improbable.

Provide reasons for the ratings you have given to each of the assertions. Your paper will then should look like this:

  claim....rating....your reason for this rating
  Repeat this process for each of the identified claims.

 

Claim Rating Justification
The cat is on the mat 6 The author ...

Your justification is the important element here. Your justification will be much longer then the claim that you are examining, at least a few paragraphs.  This is the "heart" of your paper.  Take your time here and do a good, detailed and through job.  Remember, you are responding to the philosophical text and you are engaging the philosopher in conversation. You’re doing philosophy!

PHASE III - APPLYING PHILOSOPHY

  APPLICATION

Assume that the author's argument has convinced you of the truth of her position.

  How would your life be changed?
  Assume that most everyone in your society accepted the author's thesis - how would this society be different from our own?
  Which of your values would be changed by accepting this philosophy?

Be specific and provide several concrete examples. If accepting a particular claim would be likely to have chaotic consequences, more chaotic than the acceptance of other questionable claims, you can justifiably require much stronger reasons/evidence then may be required of claims that are less disruptive of our understanding of the world.

  OTHER KNOWLEDGE AND THIS TEXT

How acceptable is this article when compared to what else you know? Ask or state how this new material contradicts, substantiates, or amplifies some previously discussed point. Try to see how this new material fits into what you have studied or discussed previously, or what was generally accepted before this reading.

  MY BELIEFS AND THIS TEXT / DECISIONS - YOUR POSITION

How will your reading of this text affect your belief system? Are there beliefs that have been reaffirmed, shaken, discredited? Reading philosophy causes us to change and modify our previously held beliefs (otherwise the essays would be uninteresting). In doing philosophy we commit ourselves to balance our beliefs to the evidence available. How has reading this article led you to rethink your views?

  INTEGRATION WITH THE REST OF THE COURSE MATERIALS

In what way does this reading aid in:

  the critical scrutiny of our beliefs and convictions;
  the unearthing of our hidden assumptions;
  the quest for a generally worthwhile life;
  the sense of wonder about the world, and
  the posing of certain questions that are not dealt with by other disciplines, and the attempt to answer them?