Schreiben und Argumentieren - Detailseite

The goal of this course is to help students improve their philosophical writing in English, especially the presentation and discussion of arguments. The primary focus of the course is on improving specifically philosophical writing, so that students who are already comfortable writing in English are welcome. But students with B2-level English are also very welcome, even if they do not yet feel wholly comfortable writing in English: this course is an opportunity to improve the skill of writing in English as well as the skill of writing philosophy. It also aims to be a relatively painless way to improve those skills, in part by requiring short (but frequent) written work. So the course is excellent preparation for students who intend to continue to an MA, or to study abroad in English.

Readings for the course will be thematically diverse, and will include an argument that we are all (philosophical) zombies, one philosophical magic trick, Newcomb’s paradox, two cures for weakness of will, one tension between moral and environmental values, a reponse to the objection that virtue ethics is not action-guiding, Paul on transformative experience, and Srinivasan on anger.

This course satisfies the requirement Schreiben und Argumentieren (in BA Phil(/Ethik) StO 2014).

Mind & Brain students: Please sign into the course by I. Hipólito only!

Critical thinkers rigorously question ideas and assumptions rather than accepting them at face value. They seek to determine whether the ideas, arguments and findings represent the entire, accurate picture. In this seminar, we will specifically focus on developing skills in argumentation and writing. We will understand the links between ideas, recognize, build and appraise arguments, identify inconsistencies and errors in reasoning, reflect on the justification of assumptions, beliefs and values. We will do so by learning to apply and think according to the techniques of propositional logic. By the end of the seminar students should be able to approach (philosophical) problems in a critical and systematic way to work through and become more reflexive about theories and methods in their respective, multiple fields.