Admission requirements
Admission to this course is restricted to pre-master’s students in Philosophy who are in possession of an admission statement, and for whom this course is part of their programme.
Description
Philosophy comes in a wide variety of styles and uses many different methodologies. But all types require mastery of the craft of careful textual analysis and clear articulation of an argument.
This course will introduce students to the core tools of philosophical analysis, argumentation, and writing, as well as provide an opportunity for students to hone these skills through intensive work with philosophical texts.
In the first half of this course, we will focus on philosophical argumentation and the reading of philosophical texts. Students will learn the following skills of textual analysis and argument construction:
Learn what an argument is and basic properties of arguments (validity and soundness);
Identify basic inference types and distinguish them from fallacies;
Master the structure of different types of arguments (such as inferences to the best explanation, infinite regresses, reductio ad absurdum arguments);
Reconstruct arguments;
Learn the principles of philosophical charity.
In the second half of the course, we will focus on philosophical writing. Students will apply the skills learned in the first part of the course to their own philosophical writing:
Devise an initial question and construct a thesis statement;
Structure an essay;
Build your own argument: critiquing texts, developing counterexamples, and offering evidence;
Learn to formulate your ideas clearly and precisely;
Seek information effectively and efficiently: using library services, evaluating sources, compiling and referencing bibliographical materials.
This will culminate in the writing of an original philosophical essay, complete with bibliography.
Course objectives
This course aims to train students’ essential philosophical skills concerning reading, understanding, researching and writing philosophical texts. The tutorials aim to acquaint students with ongoing philosophical research.
Students who successfully complete the tutorial sessions will have a good understanding of:
- examples of ongoing philosophical research projects at Leiden University.
Students who successfully complete the course will be able to:
understand the aim and structure of a philosophical text;
identify and analyse the arguments in a philosophical text;
provide helpful feedback on the work of other students;
find and work with relevant literature on a topic in philosophy;
write a text synopsis, a commentary, and an argumentative essay.
In general, students who successfully complete this course will have the philosophical skills required to successfully complete their MA philosophy programme at Leiden University.
Timetable
The timetables are available through MyTimetable.
Mode of instruction
- Seminars.
Class attendance is required.
Assessment method
Assessment
Several exercises (Pass/Fail)
Midterm: précis (30%);
Final essay (70%).
Weighing
The final mark for the course is established by determination of the weighted average of several subtests (see above). To pass the course, the weighted average of the partial grades must be 5.5 or higher.
Students without sufficient attendance will be excluded from the examination.
Resit
There will be an opportunity to retake the failed exercises. The précis and final essay can be individually retaken, provided the requirements of attendance and participation are met.
Students without sufficient attendance or who have a passing grade for the first attempt will be excluded from the resit.
Inspection and feedback
How and when an exam review will take place will be disclosed together with the publication of the exam results at the latest. If a student requests a review within 30 days after publication of the exam results, an exam review will have to be organized.
Reading list
A full course syllabus will be distributed via Brightspace. We will use extracts from A. P. Martinich, Philosophical Writing: An Introduction. and J. F. Rosenberg, The Practice of Philosophy: A Handbook for Beginners.
Students are recommended to buy the Martinich book.
All texts used will be made available either on Brightspace or through the university library.
Registration
Enrolment through MyStudyMap is mandatory.
General information about course and exam enrolment is available on the website.
Contact
For substantive questions, contact the lecturer listed in the right information bar.
For questions about enrolment, admission, etc, contact the Education Administration Office: Huizinga.
Remarks
Not applicable.