1. The paper must be 5 pages long, typed, double-spaced, in an 11- or 12-point font with reasonable margins.2. The paper must be written in accord with the conventions of Standard Written English. Your paper will be evaluated in part in terms of spelling, grammar, and overall structure.
3. You must use direct quotations from the readings assigned in class to support your claims about what the philosophers say and/or believe. Citations should be in either the MLA or Chicago Manual of Style formats (information on both of which is available on the UHD Library website, under the heading, “Citing Sources”), and as such must give full bibliographical information for your sources in either a “works cited” (MLA) or bibliographical footnotes (Chicago). Quotations should be set off from the rest of the paper (typically by quotation marks), and you must cite the page numbers in the relevant text where the quoted passage appears.
4. Do not assume that the reader of your paper is familiar with what has been read or discussed in this class. Think of your reader as an educated person who, although they may be familiar with philosophy in general, is not necessarily knowledgeable of the texts (or topics) you are discussing in the paper. As such, you should make every effort to explain the ideas you discuss and the quotations you use in straightforward language that generally conveys meaning to your reader.
5. You are responsible for ensuring that your paper is free of plagiarism. If you do not know what constitutes plagiarism, please consult the syllabus for this class, the UHD Student Handbook, the Academic Honesty Policy of the University of Houston-Downtown, and/or the UHD Library website (“Plagiarism: Understand and Avoid It!” in the section, “Citing Sources”) . If you are still uncertain, please contact the instructor with any specific questions you might have.
6. The paper must be submitted online (via Blackboard).
ADDITIONAL DIRECTIONS FOR SUBMISSION
The paper must be typed.
Do NOT include a title.
Place your name, date, and course and section numbers in the header of the paper on one line.
Make sure to save your paper with the following file name:
[your last name] Paper 3.
Example: Bohorquez Paper 3.
You must submit your paper in a format that is compatible with Microsoft Word. If I have difficulty reading your paper because of the format in which it was submitted, I will consider your paper as not submitted. Please do NOT submit your paper as a pdf.
Submit this as an attachment to Blackboard. I will not accept hard copies or e-mail submissions of your paper. Make sure that you know how to and can submit to Blackboard before the deadline.
You must also have at least 4 relevant and explanatory quotes from the primary texts with which we have worked. Paraphrases do not count toward this count.
When referring to texts please use parenthetical citations in MLA format. Right-click on the link for MLA format info: MLA format. Use marginal (Stephanus) pages when citing Plato.
The length of the paper MUST be at least the minimum. Only use words in the body of the paper toward word count. Click on the following link for information on setting up word count on MS Word: Word Count
Make sure to include a Works Cited section or page.
This paper is not intended to be a research paper. My expectations are that you will demonstrate an earnest engagement with the topic of the assignment. Make sure to dedicate attention to defining all terms, though. Do not cite dictionaries when providing definitions. Use your own words to explain the key terms of the topic. Citations of secondary sources is STRONGLY discouraged.
Write a 5-page paper (about 1150 to 1350-words) responding to the topic below. This assignment is due Friday, December 4, 2020, at 11:59 pm (just before midnight). Submit this to Blackboard.
This semester we have read philosophers that might have some philosophical resources by which to counter religious, cultural, and biological arguments that place women in secondary or oppressed positions in societies around the world.
In this paper, explain how TWO of the following three philosophers’ theories might be used to provide arguments to counter women’s subjugation: Plato, Beauvoir, and Rousseau. Plato’s discussion in the Euthyphro might help assess religious arguments for the subjugation of women. De Beauvoir’s existential philosophy and her application of it to the status of women would allow us to assess arguments that place women in a secondary role in societies throughout the world. For Rousseau, consider how his discussion of the origin of inequality might explain why inequality is unjustified and the result of an agreement or negotiation that is unjust. Finally, provide a clear description of your own position and the origin of that position in reference to the role of women in society. (In other words, provide a clear discussion of your position about the status and roles of women throughout societies in the world and how the two philosophers you chose for this paper challenge or affirm that position.)
Method Guidelines
Your answer to the question must not only present your own considered opinion on the matter, but must have a basis in the readings for the course, and be formulated so as to include at least:
1. a comparative examination of two or three different possible answers to the question;
2. a critical analysis of your own position which identifies potential weaknesses in the position and explains what makes that position nevertheless superior in some way to the others considered; and
3. specific reference to ideas, insights, and/or arguments presented by the philosophers assigned in the prompt
Categories
Plato, Beauvoir, and Rousseau
