“Would Human Extinction Be a Tragedy?”.
NB: Before starting your essay, you should read this entire document. For this assignment, you will choose one of the three topics below and write an essay of at least 4 pages, double-spaced, in Times New Roman 12 point font; your paper should be written in Standard English and done in MLA format. You must include a MLA works cited page that includes all sources used in your essay, including the article related to the topic you choose. To submit your paper, click on ‘Essay 2.’ You should attach a file that can be opened with Microsoft Word (doc or docx); do not submit a pdf or type in the submission box. Any instance of plagiarism will be punished by a minimum of an F on the assignment and a report to the associate dean of the humanities division. Further punishment could include failure in the course, suspension, or expulsion. The articles given below as topics are all from The New York Times. Non- subscribers are limited to the number of articles they can read, but the Richland Library has full access to The New York Times. You can access The New York Times via this DCCCD Library web page. Topic #1: “Would Human Extinction Be a Tragedy?” https://www.nytimes.com/2019/02/06/opinion/athens-plato- academy.html?login=email&auth=login-email Topic #2: “Why Mortality Makes Us Free” https://www.nytimes.com/2019/03/11/opinion/why-mortality-makes-us- free.html Topic #3: “Would Human Extinction Be a Tragedy?” https://www.nytimes.com/2019/02/06/opinion/athens-plato- academy.html?login=email&auth=login-email After choosing an article/topic to write about, you should choose one of the philosophical questions from the list of questions included with the assignment handouts. The question should be one that you think relates to the article/topic you choose. The focus of your essay will be an analysis of the philosophical question you choose from the list. Please note! Do not simply choose any question on the list; you should choose a question that you think relates to the article/topic you choose. In your essay, you will need to explain how the question relates to the article/topic. Your essay should follow the below outline and should include the following: A heading done according to MLA An original title (hint: ‘Essay 1’ is not an original title; nor is the title of the article you choose to write on) First Paragraph: Introduction In the introduction, you should set up the topic of your essay in a way that engages your reader. Since the essay is an analysis of a philosophical question, your introduction should convey this; your introduction should contain your thesis (if you are unsure of how to write a thesis, read this advice on developing a thesis), should let the reader know the philosophical question you intend to analyze, and should mention the article you are writing about (the article related to the topic you choose). Here is some VERY helpful advice on how to write your intro/begin your essay: https://writingcenter.fas.harvard.edu/pages/beginning-academic-essay Second Paragraph: Summary of the article given with the topic you chose When you refer to an article, you should give the title, author, and publication. A summary should be a brief, objective overview (meaning no opinionated or evaluative comments) of the main ideas of the original. In the summary paragraph, you should periodically use author tags to indicate that you are summarizing, that you are conveying someone else’s views. So you should say things such as, “According to Jane Doe…” or “The author points out that…” Also, in a summary, use transitions to convey to the reader the order of ideas presented in the original, to connect the summary’s ideas and make it coherent, things like, “First, the author discusses the problem of….”, “Furthermore, he addresses the issue of….” “Doe concludes by pointing out that…” The summary should be written as such, meaning you are continuously referring to the text and the author. A few more things about a summary: it should not contain quotations, it should be only one paragraph, and it should accurately give the main ideas of the original. Read this helpful advice on how to correctly summarize a text. Third Paragraph: A thorough discussion/explanation of the philosophical question and how it relates to the article you chose Here are some points you should address in this paragraph; they do not all have to be addressed, but most should be: How does the topic of the article you chose relate to this question? Why is this question of concern philosophically? Why does it matter how this question is answered? In other words, what is at stake in this question? Why do we care about it? Why is it important for everyone, not only philosophers? What other philosophers have addressed the question? (only mention those you intend to discuss in your essay) What philosophical theories or positions might help us discuss this question? (also, only mention those you intend to discuss in your essay)