Class: Philosophy

Date Due:

Academic Challenge: Writing a “trial” Essay

Guiding Principles:

A Conval student’s education . . .

· balances traditional knowledge and skills with innovative, real-world applications;

· fosters critical thinking and problem solving, both individual and collaborative;

· inspires the development of strong, internal standards of quality.

Student Expectation:

· Students will actively engage themselves in the learning process.

· Students will personally challenge themselves.

· Students will write and speak in a clear, organized manner.

· Students will access, process and apply information effectively.

· Students will solve problems by utilizing and analyzing information from a variety of sources.

· Students will demonstrate critical and creative thinking.

· Students will use technology in management of information.

· Students will work effectively with others.

NHEIAP Standard:

· Students will read fluently, with understanding and appreciation.

· Students will write effectively for a variety of purposes and audiences.

· Students will speak purposefully and articulately.

· Students will listen and view attentively and critically.

· Students will understand, appreciate, interpret, and critically analyze classical and contemporary American and British literature as well as literary works translated into English.

· Students will use reading, writing, speaking, listening, and viewing to gather and organize information, to communicate effectively; and to succeed in educational, occupational, civic, social, and everyday settings.

The Question:	How does a philosophical essay arrive at a truth?
The Challenge:	Michel de Montaigne called the writing genre he created “trials.” In each essay, he attempts to put his belief on a subject on trial, to weigh the evidence from great minds of history and from events of the past and to arrive at a conclusion about the belief. He often wrote of virtues and vices, but also wrote about such diverse subjects as thumbs, coaches and cannibals. Your task is to research a topic, be it a virtue, a vice or a statement on the human condition, and write a philosophical essay about it, using the essays of Montaigne and Voltaire as models. I will expect real research, real logic and real references to what people said and did around your chosen topic, as well as your own personal experiences with it. The essays should serve to inform the reader’s judgment on the subject, supported with quotes from historical figures and thinkers, anecdotes from history and/or literature, and a statement based upon personal experience. The intent of this assignment is, through research, logic and personal experience, to arrive at a personal belief about a issue or characteristic of importance to your audience. It is intended to provide the student with experience in research, character development, essay writing and personal growth. You may use block quotes as did Montaigne, or incorporate the quotes into the text. Use parenthetical quotes with the source’s name and quote source. You should have a bibliography. You may want to start your research by getting quotes on the subject from a quotations source, then researching it in more depth in the library. The library has an Encyclopedia of Philosophy, an encyclopedia of Bio-Ethics and a reference book on historical anecdotes. Some internet sources are: http://209.10.134.179/99/ http://www.cyber-nation.com/victory/quotations/subjects/quotes_virtue.html http://www.quoteland.com/quotes/search/search.cgi?query=virtue http://dir.yahoo.com/Reference/Quotations/ Some topics might be: on the use of foul language, on honesty, on lying, on temperance, on greed, on chastity, on promiscuity, on friendship, on cheating, on pride, on lust, on faith, on envy, on hope, on charity or on the greatness of the Irish.
Minimum Product Standards:	The essay is on time. The essay is shared in class. The essay has a subject appropriate for sharing in class. The essay contains quotes taken from research. The essay contains anecdotes or events taken from research. The essay contains a personal statement based upon experience. The essay bears a resemblance to the model essays. The essay has a bibliography.