Philosophy Paper Ideas?

[Mels]

I have to write a 6-8 page paper for philosophy which is due April 15 and I need ideas/suggestions. I have a few ideas but nothing that really sticks to me. The topic can be pretty much about anything - it’s an argument paper. Preferably, I’d like to write something that deals with the metaphysical, though I’m open to any suggestions.

*Note: the professor is an ex-Catholic agnostic who is biased against religion.

Thanks for the help in advance.

 

[cpayne]

What level of course is this? What sorts of topics have you covered? What particular topic struck your interest as something you would like to think more about? These answers would help in answering your question.

 

[geometer]

I have to write a 6-8 page paper for philosophy which is due April 15 and I need ideas/suggestions. I have a few ideas but nothing that really sticks to me. The topic can be pretty much about anything - it’s an argument paper. Preferably, I’d like to write something that deals with the metaphysical, though I’m open to any suggestions.

*Note: the professor is an ex-Catholic agnostic who is biased against religion.

Thanks for the help in advance.

Write a paper on qualia.

The way I see it is that the existence of qualia call into question the monism that most atheists believe. Our conscious experiences of colors and sensations etc… must be something, and probably are some kind of substances. However, it is a fascinating problem which leads some to believe that colors for instance are non-physical substances.

In His yeshua,

Vincent

 

[PoliSciProf]

A baker’s dozen of topics for your consideration:

Why does a mirror reverse left and right but not up and down? I actually saw this article in a philosophy journal many moons ago.

Is reason reasonable and how can this be proven?

Is modern philosophy in crisis?

Has ancient thought (Plato, Aristotle, Augustine et al.) ever been really refuted by the moderns?

Can social science be value free?

Is beauty REALLY in the eye of the beholder?

How can one generate random numbers by applying an algorithm in a computer program?

Should we produce chimeras? Will we produce chimeras? (a bio-ethics topic)

Is philosophy an academic discipline or a way of life?

Should the many be exposed to philosophy or should it be reserved for the few?

How can one differentiate the sophist from the philosopher?

Does philosophy still matter?

Why?

 

[Mels]

What level of course is this? What sorts of topics have you covered? What particular topic struck your interest as something you would like to think more about? These answers would help in answering your question.

Well this is a 200 level Ancient Philosophy course. We’ve covered the pre-Socratics, Plato, and now we’re covering Aristotle. We read the works of the philosophers and study their thoughts.

I was thinking of a few topics - the one that strikes me potentially is proving the benefits of religion, but actually some of the topics given by the previous poster were ones I considered as well. I thought about arguing for the existence of the soul, what beauty really is, against relativism, criticizing Plato’s ideal Republic, etc but some of those I hadn’t thought about and they’re pretty good. I’ll keep thinking. It’s due on April 15.

 

[cpayne]

I thought about arguing for the existence of the soul, what beauty really is, against relativism, criticizing Plato’s ideal Republic, etc .

Given what you’ve covered in class, these are really very good ideas. On the soul, you might also check out a recent thread here on the Philosophy part; I forget the title, but it was on philosophical arguments for the existence of a non-material soul. You could get help from that, probably. There are also threads on beauty and relativism.

 

[Mels]

Given what you’ve covered in class, these are really very good ideas. On the soul, you might also check out a recent thread here on the Philosophy part; I forget the title, but it was on philosophical arguments for the existence of a non-material soul. You could get help from that, probably. There are also threads on beauty and relativism.

Thank you for the help - I’ll definitely check out the other threads. I think I’ll either critique Plato’s Republic or argue for the existence of the soul.

I’ll still welcome any ideas and if anyone can direct me to sources where I can research these topics, I’d be much obliged to you and you’ll have my gratitude.