Write an essay on The Concept of Race

t the top of the first page. Prompts are below.

WHY?

This assignment is meant to assess your critical understanding of the contents, your capacity to reflect autonomously on them, and your capacity to formulate and defend a philosophical argument in a written text.

HOW?

A philosophical paper is structured like the defense of a thesis. This means that you must have a definite claim in your mind, state it clearly, and propose an argument in its support; in other words, you must provide reasons for your claim. The steps of your argument and the way they are connected should be clear for the reader, and the conclusion should be easily identifiable and follow logically from the argument.

TIPS

• Use short sentences and a straightforward style. Do not try to impress with complicated phrases or terms you are unable to explain.
• Do not take it for granted that your reader already knows the topics that you are dealing with. Although it is your instructor and TAs that will evaluate the paper, you are expected to define explicitly the main concepts that you are using.
• Make sure your paper shows that you studied and understood the materials.
• State your thesis at the very beginning of your paper.
• Make your argumentative steps explicit: announce them in the first paragraph, and then follow them thoroughly.
• Use your own words and possibly your own examples. This demonstrates autonomy and capacity of reflection. Examples help the reader understand better what you have in mind.
• It is a good idea to identify a possible objection to your argument and respond to it.
• Connect the conclusion of the paper to the thesis that you stated at the beginning.
• Plagiarism (passing off as your own the ideas or words of someone else) is not allowed in any form. Always credit your sources. Be aware that papers are automatically checked for plagiarism.

QUESTIONS

• How should I format the paper?

There are no specific requirements regarding formatting. Just write the prompt number and/or title at the beginning of the paper. The important thing is that the paper is written clearly.

• Should I add a title?

Not required but encouraged. It contributes to the clarity of the paper.

• Are quotes and references required? Are they allowed?

Quotes and references are not required, but they are allowed. If you quote, you should acknowledge the author, and add the reference at the end of the paper, in a separate paragraph titled “References”.

• If I add references, how should I format them?

References should include author and title. If you have them, also add: year of publication; book title (for book chapters) or name of the journal (for journal articles); place of publication and publisher (for books or book chapters) or journal issue and pages (for journal articles). If you do not have the full reference it’s ok, just include author and title.

• Can I add references outside the course readings?

Yes. However, your paper should not focus mainly on them.

• Are footnotes allowed?

Yes, but keep in mind that footnotes are secondary additions. If you use them, do not use them to explain major points.

• Does the word count include the prompt, references (if any) and footnotes (if any)?

No.

• Can I send you a draft of my paper for before I submit it?

Sorry, no. In the interest of fairness, neither I nor the TAs will provide feedback on drafts.

DEADLINE AND LATE POLICY

The midterm paper is due by Feb 7th, 11:59 pm. Respecting the deadline is important! There is 1 point of penalty (out of 20) for each day (or fraction of day) of delay. Max penalty 40% of the full grade (8 points).

GOOD NEWS

There is, however, a grace period of one day for this assignment. This means that if you submit it late but within 24h after the deadline, there will be no late penalty. The late penalties will be calculated starting from 24h after the deadline.

PROMPTS

1) Which one among the three philosophical theories of the Pure Ego examined by James (Spiritualist, associationist, and transcendental) do you find more convincing? Why?

2) Choose a country you have never been to. Imagine being born there. Imagine you are your age, sex, and race. Which traits of your identity and of your personality do you think would remain the same, and which would be different? Why? What does this show regarding the concept of personal identity, as studied in this module?

3) There are different theories concerning what race is. According to some, we should actually stop using the concept of race. Do you think this would be useful or damaging? Why?

4) What does Ian Hacking mean when he says that we “make up” people? What are his central claims? Critically assess the plausibility of his proposal.

5) Choose one of the additional resources of week 5. Critically evaluate its contents with reference to the topics studied.

Answer preview:

word limit:820