Teaching Theory of Knowledge

Introduction to Philosophical Writing

CONTRIBUTOR: James Bogen.

      This is a version of an introductory course called "Introduction to Philosophical Writing," which I've taught once a year at Pitzer College for the last five years. For reasons I don't understand, it works well, and prepares students to take intermediate courses.

      The course is limited to no more than 15 students, and should be taken only by students who have had no previous exposure to philosophy. It is suitable for freshmen as well as upperclassmen.

      Format. After an introductory lecture on what philosophers do, students are asked to prepare a list of questions, one of which will be selected for the course. Once a question has been selected, the rest of the term will be spent trying to find an answer to it. The submitted questions are discussed during the next two meetings of the course, at the end of which time the class votes to select the one they will work on for the remainder of the course. Students should be instructed to think of questions having to do with knowledge. In discussing candidates, they should think about how they would go about answering them. Although impossible topics should be ruled out (e.g., questions involving empirical work in psychology which the class couldn't carry out), it is important to let students select the question as freely as possible.

      After a topic is selected, the class should decide how to begin working on it, and they also should select a topic for a short paper (2 to 4 pages) to be written for the next meeting. From this point onward, each student writes a short paper each week. The papers are duplicated and circulated so that they can be read before the meeting at which they will be discussed. Most course meetings consist of one or more students reading his/her paper aloud, and a discussion of the papers. The topic for the next paper should emerge out of these discussions. Where needed, I give short lectures on methodology, and sometimes, on developments from the discussions, but most of the class meetings should be devoted to carefully refereed discussion. At the end of the term, each student writes a term paper on a topic of his/her choice having to do with what was discussed during the term. When I have the energy, I give 45-minute oral exams on the papers. They are conducted much like a tutorial session.

During the term, students do not read anything except the papers produced by the class. Usually, they will want to read some of the literature on the issues which emerge during the class to see how what they did compares with treatments by professional philosophers. This "outside" reading can be done during the last week of the course; in some cases, it is useful to give students something to read in connection with their term papers.

      My experience has been that students who do reasonably well in the course have no trouble at all with reading philosophy in the courses they take next. They tend to be better at discussing philosophy than students from normal introductory courses. And without exception, the courses have produced interesting and intellectually rigorous work.

      Some pitfalls to avoid. Great care must be taken to make it clear to students that argument is essential, that objections are to be expected, and that they are to be understood as directed against a position, and not against the person who defends it. This is ticklish and delicate work. It is essential to avoid ego damage without discouraging vigorous argument.

      It is also essential to avoid imposing your own views on the class. As much as possible, I try to limit my remarks to correcting methodological errors, asking questions to draw out issues implicit in the discussion, and, when needed, summarizing the results of complicated and extended discussions.

      Most beginners don't have the stamina to follow a sustained discussion for more than about 15 minutes. That means that in the early meetings, it is a good idea to stop occasionally, summarize what has been said, and let students recover for a few minutes before continuing. It helps to have coffee on hand. And it is best not to have overly long meetings: an hour and a half twice a week seems to work, if they are carefully paced.