William Paley argues that the world displays order and is like a finely tuned machine (pp. 452-453). Is Paley right that world displays order and is like a machine? Explain why or why not.
Your thesis should be the first sentence, and it should answer the question. Then you should spend the rest of the assignment supporting your thesis. Be sure to meet the minimum word requirement of 200 words and put your word count on the assignment.
You can find an example at the end of last week’s video on “What is Philosophy?”, and you can also find more detailed instructions in the Writing Assignment Instructions document in this week’s module.
Writing Assignment instructions in response to the prompt for the week, you should start the assignment with a clear thesis (i.e. a clear answer to the prompt). Then the rest of the assignment should be devoted to supporting this thesis. You should explain key terms, and you should explain to the reader why they should accept your thesis. Keep in mind that the audience for this assignment is an intelligent person who is unfamiliar with the subject matter you are writing on. Upload the writing assignment to the TurnItIn link through Canvas. Dont forget to include your word count!Required Word Count: 200-350 wordsTips:Using examples is a great way to both explain ideas and show how they are plausible. Avoid using rhetorical questions. Rhetorical questions are often lazy devices that do not require any substantial argumentation on your part. Instead of using a rhetorical question, use a statement.You should not need to quote the authors to respond to the prompt. If you do provide a quote, do not simply quote an author without explaining what is being said. Directly quoting from the text, even when it is properly cited, does not demonstrate an understanding of the material. Instead, you should quote or paraphrase what the author says and then explain what this quote paraphrase means and why it is plausible. You do not need an introduction or conclusion. Begin your assignment with a brief statement of what you are going to do (i.e. your thesis), and then immediately start providing support. Because the assignments are so short, there is no need to reiterate what you have done in the assignments a conclusion. The writing assignments will be evaluated on the basis of writing and philosophical content and will be graded as follows:10: Exceptional in every regard: no writing mistakes, no conceptual errors, no factual errors, evidence of creative and insightful philosophical thought and cogent analysis.9: Excellent grasp of the material with either minor writing issues or some minor flaws in the critical analysis. No factual errors (which include misrepresentations of the positions being critically discussed). An assignment that would have otherwise received a 10 but is missing a word count.8: Good grasp of the material with minor writing issues, some minor flaws in the critical analysis, and/or minor factual errors (which include misrepresentations of the positions being critically discussed). An assignment that would have otherwise received a 9 but is missing a word count.7: Adequate grasp of material with substantial writing issues, factual errors (which include misrepresentations of the positions being critically discussed), and without thoughtful analysis. An assignment that would have otherwise received an 8 without a word count.0: Unreadable due to egregious writing mistakes, off-topic, or merely speculative pieces without argumentation. Rewrite required. Any writing assignments that do not meet the minimum word count.
