Brief Guidelines for Papers

Brief Guidelines for Papers from Syllabus: All papers should explain the main question and evaluate the arguments on all sides & submitted in both electronic & hard copies (i.e. printed on paper & also sent as e-mail). Papers should be typed and accompanied by an abstract (summary of main points, facts & arguments) & bibliography. Save a copy of your paper as a text (.txt) document, (not compressed or zipped or Microsoft Word or Works or WordPerfect document), and attach it to your e-mail. E-mail attachments which are not in plain text (i.e. txt format e.g. compressed or zipped or in Microsoft Word or Works or WordPerfect) are unacceptable. Late extra-credit papers won't be accepted. Late required papers will be dropped by 1 letter grade. For extended guidelines, go back and see section on "How to Write a Philosophy Essay or Paper."

How to Formulate your Philosophy of Life

Philosophy

Philosophy consists of honest attempts to answer basic or fundamental questions about life and the universe. The deeper the answers, the better the philosophy. By deeper, I mean well-thoughtout, defensible, consistent, insightful, unique, etc.

Basic Questions

Here are some of the questions that you need to answer in your personal philosophy or philosophy you live by that we will call philosophy of life. The first area that needs to be addressed is called Metaphysics and concerns what exists.
  1. What is the basic stuff out of which the universe is made?
  2. Does God exist?
  3. Is there life after death?
The next area of concern in philosophy is Epistemology which deals with questions about truth and knowledge.
  1. What is truth?
  2. What constitutes knowledge?
  3. How do we know the truth?

The third area of concern in philosophy is Ethics , concerning right and wrong.
  1. What makes an action right?
  2. What makes an action wrong?
  3. What is justice and how can it be achieved?

Putting Everything Together


Lastly one must put all the answers to these questions together in an interesting and personal way. If you are supposed to apply the readings from your textbook or course or classes to your philosophy of life, make sure you (a) present and evaluate the readings from your textbook or course or classes and (b) show how they are related or connected to different parts of your philosophy of life including similarities and differences.
One way to do this, is to use the data collected in an attempt to answer the above questions to address these issues:
  1. How should one live and why?
  2. What principles do you think we should base our lives on and why?
  3. Given everything that you have seen, heard and experienced, what do you think life is, and in what way is your philosophy of life different or similar to those of the philosophers that you have read?

The Philosophy of Life Form

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Index or Table of Contents

Copy and Paste Version of The Philosophy of Life Form (See end of this page for the Real Direct E-Mail Response Form.)
Make the appropriate selection and enter the appropriate text below:

A. TITLE: Select the title of your philosophical report below:
A Philosophy of Life
Meditations on Life
Reflections on Life

B. SUBTITLE: Select your subtitle from below:
An Exercise in African Philosophy
An Exercise in American Philosophy
An Exercise in Asian Philosophy
An Exercise in European Philosophy
An Exercise in Comparative Philosophy
An Exercise in Philosophy

C. BELIEFS AND POSITIONS
  1. I believe that, ultimately, everything that exists is:
    spiritual or psychical;
    material or physical;
    both material and spiritual;
    neither material nor spiritual;

    because of the following reasons:

  2. God, spirits and the after-life:
    exist
    do not exist
    may or may not exist

    for the following reasons:

  3. What is true, is what:
    corresponds with reality.
    is coherent.
    is useful.
    is so.

  4. We:
    do or can not know anything.
    do or can know anything.
    do or can know many things.
    do or can know some things.

    The reasons, are as indicated below:

  5. Whether an action is right or wrong, depends primarily on:
    how it affects me.
    how it affects the happiness of the majority.
    the reason or motive for the action, regardless of the consequences.
    whether it pleases God.
    how we feel.

  6. For example, sexism, apartheid, murder or rape is:
    right
    wrong
    both right and wrong
    neither right nor wrong

    because of the following:

  7. Given my:
    African experience,
    American experience,
    Asian experience,
    European experience,
    international experience,
    human experience,

  8. I think that one should live a life of:

  9. The most basic principle I hold dearly and wish to recommend to others is:

    Here is my reason for thinking that it is the best principle in life:

  10. Because of the following considerations, I believe that life has:
    meaning:
    no meaning:

    Because:

  11. To summarize my philosophy of life in one profound statement or sentence, I would say that Life is:

    Here is my reason for thinking that it is the best description of life:

  12. If you are supposed to apply the readings from your textbook or course or classes to your philosophy of life, make sure you (a) present and evaluate the readings from your textbook or course or classes and (b) show their relevance, connection, how they are related or connected to different parts of your philosophy of life including similarities and differences.

The Real Direct E-Mail Response Form

E-Mail Response Form






by







I believe that, ultimately, everything that exists is because of the following reasons:


God, spirits and the after-life for the following reasons:


What is true, is what We The reasons, are as indicated below:


Whether an action is right or wrong, depends primarily on
For example, sexism, apartheid, murder or rape is because of the following:


Given my I think that one should live a life of

The most basic principle I hold dearly and wish to recommend to others is:


Here is my reason for thinking that it is the best principle in life:


Because of the following considerations, I believe that life has

To summarize my philosophy of life in one profound statement or sentence, I would say that Life is:


Here is my reason for thinking that it is the best description of life:


Here is how and why my philosophy of life is similar or different from what I have read:





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The Philosophy of Life Form V1.0 ©1997, 2002, 2009 Safro Kwame