Unit 3 Assignment, Essay (LO3)
Introduction to Philosophy Section 1JG Spring 2024 CO
Due Date
Monday, Mar 4, 2024 at 11:59 PM
Purpose
This assignment presents an issue that relates to the different concepts of free will you read about in Unit 3.
People encounter issues that relate to whether or not they are free on a daily basis, but one that can affect people’s lives dramatically is addiction. This assignment clarifies the importance of how we understand addiction and whether or not we can see addiction as a free will choice or as a predetermined condition, depending on how we use the different theories on free will from our readings.
Tasks
ead this article from the Arizona Addiction Recovery enter of how addiction is described by psychologists.
Then write an essay that answers these questions:
- What would d’Holbach say about the passage above?
- How would a determinist address the issue of”changes in the brain”?
- What would a compatibilist or soft-determinist say about the work required in overcoming addiction:
4. Can you relate the issue of free will to the earlier discussions of the self from Unit 2? Does the issue of addiction relate to the mind, or to the senses, or to memories? Be specific and provide reasons for your position.
• Which philosopher would make a distinction between internal and external causes of addiction?
(You might also think of this as “nature vs. nurture”)
o Does having will power relate to free will? Do some people have a “character” or “will” that helps them overcome addiction while others do not?
4. Can you relate the issue of free will to the earlier discussions of the self from Unit 2? Does the issue of addiction relate to the mind, or to the senses, or to memories? Be specific and provide reasons for your position.
Formatting
- The body of the essay must be a minimum of 5-6 pages in length
- Use 1 inch margins
- Use 12 point, Times New Roman font
- Use double spacing throughout, except where style guides dictate single spacing on the Works Cited page
- Use page numbers on all pages but for the cover sheet and start the page numbering on the first page of the main body of the paper.
- Include a separate Title Page
- Include a Works Cited Page
- Properly use MLA in-text citations for paraphrasing and direct quoting (Purdue OWL MLA Formatting and Style Guide)
- Here is an example essay with MLA citations
In Philosophy papers, it is very important to include a thesis statement in your first paragraph. A thesis is a statement of the view you will take on the paper topic.
For example, do you believe that the d’Holbach view is correct, and becoming addicted is something that is predetermined? Or, do you believe that Richard Taylor is correct and we have total free will? Or is your view in the middle, agreeing with one of the compatibilists like Hospers or Stace?
Philosophy papers often use first person, with ” will argue that…
” in the thesis statement. If you are
concerned about using first person, use language like
“One can conclude that..” or “We will prove that…
) terms of sources for philosophy papers, you will
otice that each unit in our course includes readings by he philosophers in their own words, as well as a set of inks to online encyclopedias to help you study. In papers, it is always much better to cite the philosophers” own words, not the encyclopedias written as guides.
