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Cultural Relativism
Cultural Relativism
In a one-page paper, answer the following questions:
What is “cultural relativism”?
What problems does Rachels have with this view? Explain these. Can you think of any other
problems?
NOTE: (No outside sources. Sources are provided by me, which are the PDF files that I upload.)
1- your first sentence could be something like the following: “Yes, it is morally permissible to
believe whatever one wants, because ____”, or “No, it is never morally permissible to believe
something on insufficient evidence” (these are just examples, yours could be different).
2- Then, defend your position. When writing philosophy, you are almost always writing an
argument. This means that you are trying to prove something to your reader. This is different
from explaining what you believe to your reader. When you take the stance of explaining, you will
often say what you believe and why, but you won’t be proving it to your reader. This is a mistake.
When writing, always be thinking about how someone might disagree with what you are saying,
and write so as to convince them.
You will be graded on the following:
Accuracy:
1- Are you correctly representing the argument? Have you understood the ideas? If you are
criticizing the argument, have you missed a possible counter-argument that they have?
2- A ‘C’ paper will have some significant error in interpretation.
3- A ‘B’ paper will have all major elements of the idea represented correctly.
4- An ‘A’ paper will have everything represented correctly and will do this with precision and
insight
Clarity:
1- s it clear what you are saying? Can an average reader follow your writing?
2- A ‘C’ paper may be difficult to follow.
3- A ‘B’ paper will be easy to follow, though there will be some confusion in the writing
4- An ‘A’ paper will make the ideas clear and accessible for the reader.
Strength of argumentation:
1- If you are required to make an argument, you want to make it as strong as possible. I will not
require you to make a perfect argument that settles the matter for all philosophers. This will be
much too high of an expectation. I do require two basic things: first, it has to take the form of an
argument, where you state a claim and defend this claim. Second, it has to be strong enough for
an introductory philosophy course. There is no simple way to quantify this, since we will study a
variety of different arguments, some much more difficult than others. Here are some basic
guidelines:
2- A ‘C’ paper will have the form of the argument, but will be easy to defeat. There may be a
problem with the argument that is already given by one of the philosophers that we study that
should have been taken into account. By this I mean that if we study someone who has argued
against what you are saying, you need to take account of this; otherwise, why shouldn’t we just
believe what they said instead?
3- A ‘B’ paper will have the form of the argument and takes account of any counter-arguments to
your position that we have studied. It will also be able to defend itself from “easy” counterarguments.
a. An easy counter-argument would be like this: if you say “anything is true as long as someone
believes it”, I could counter by saying “does this mean if you believe that you can fly, you can
actually fly?” I would take this to be an easy counter-argument. You aren’t expected to be able to
defend yourself against anything that I can think of, but you should be able to anticipate
objections like this one.
4- An ‘A’ paper will have the form of the argument, take account of anything that we have
discussed, and be something that most people, say, in the class would have to seriously
consider.
There is no exact length, but about 300-400 words will be enough for most assignments.
Please follow the prompt and the rubric properly
Imaginative Narrative
Imaginative Narrative
Assignment: Imaginative Narrative (due at BEGINNING of class on due date—see syllabus)
In about 2 pages, tell a story about a time someone did or said something you didn’t like—it
could be something you disagreed with, or simply found annoying, or distasteful, or that you just
disliked for some other reason. It doesn’t have to be something they said or did directly to you,
but it should be something you experienced or witnessed in person. Also, it doesn’t need to be
highly dramatic, just personally unlikeable to you. Finally, here’s the big thing, tell this story
from the point of view of the person who did or said the thing you didn’t like. This is where the
act of imagining comes in.
➢ Don’t get me wrong, I’m not asking you to imagine something that would make you
condone or approve of the unlikeable behavior; I’m asking you to imagine some cause(s)
of that behavior, some scenario(s) or circumstance(s) or life detail(s), that might make it
possible for you to have sympathy for the person him/herself.
➢ (This kind of imaginative thinking is challenging, but it’s crucial to the rhetorical
effectiveness that this course is designed to hone—to the kind of communication that can
profoundly influence an audience who doesn’t see eye-to-eye with you. If you can try,
through imagination, to see the world the way someone else sees it, you will be much
better able to communicate with that person in a way that will compel them to truly
listen.)
Thinking in the narrative terms found in The Seagull Book of Stories, make the person who did
or said the thing you didn’t like into the “protagonist” of your story (probably also the “first
person narrator”). For definitions of these terms, see “Point of View” (SBOS xiii) and
“Character” (SBOS xvi)
Disorder of Joints. Joint Disorders
Disorder of Joints. Joint Disorders
There are many disorders associated with our Joints. Some of these disorders are genetic in origin while others result from injuries or overuse. Choose ONE of the disorders below and write a brief description for each of these categories as it pertains to the disease you choose:
- Pathophysiology – how does the disorder affect the body
- Etiology – when does the disorder first show up and how does it progress
- Signs and Symptoms – how does the disorder manifest itself (Note: signs and symptoms are
NOT the same!) - Diagnostic Tools – how do doctors diagnose this disorder
- Treatment Options – how is the disorder managed
- Disorders to choose from (unless there is something you would rather research):
Osteoarthritis
Rheumatoid Arthritis
Gout
Ankylosing Spondylitis
Writing Requirements:
APA essay format with proper paragraphs and punctuation.
Minimum of two scholarly resources (No Wickipedia!)
Less than 10% can be direct quotations
No word minimum but answers need to be thorough