Fall 2017 POLI 206/A
Aristotle Essay Assignment 1 From the Syllabus: Each student is responsible for submitting two Essays, one on Plato and one on Aristotle, selected from the four Assignment options. Essays will be 2000 – 2500 words in length each. Assignments typically involve a critical analysis of primary sources, featuring ample textual evidence properly cited.
Essays will be assessed for clarity & organization, the extent & quality of textual research, and critical analysis & insight. Complete instructions and guidelines will be posted to the course website. Essays must be submitted in hard copy directly to the instructor by the end of class time.
Topics: Select one of the following topics below. Do not simply report on the things that are said by Aristotle. Make an argument of your own that emerges out of a critical engagement with the text. Of all the things that could be said about the selected subject, make a case for the most interesting observations and compelling arguments that you can offer. Do not restrict yourself to a consideration of the text in the immediate vicinity of Aristotle’s most direct and explicit treatment of a given subject. Make use of any part of the Nicomachean Ethics as a whole that you can integrate into your analysis and make relevant. Consider the question at both the level of the individual and the social or political level. Some use of illustrative examples is welcome, but whether you personally like or dislike Aristotle’s view should not be the principal focus of your paper.
1. Select one of the virtues of character discussed in Books III and IV of the Nicomachean Ethics. Why is it essential for human happiness? What makes obtaining it difficult? What is most lamentable about lacking it? What can be done about it?
Instructions: This assignment is an exercise in the critical analysis of a primary source text. Your essay should feature ample textual evidence in the form of quotations and citations. Quote and cite the assigned edition of the text using in-text parenthetical citations that refer to the standardized numbers in the margins of the book. For example:
Aristotle remarks, “it is also hard work to be excellent” (1109a25). The use of secondary sources is neither required nor recommended.
If, however, any external sources are consulted, whether scholarly or popular, even if you do not quote from them, full and proper bibliographical references to them are required, plus footnotes wherever they are referenced specifically. You will not be penalized for conducting research beyond what is required, but you risk sanctions under the Academic Code of Conduct if you do not duly acknowledge that those resources were consulted. See the syllabus for information regarding plagiarism.
Use 12-point Times New Roman font, double spacing, and one-inch margins, and provide a word count. Essays that do not meet the assigned specifications may be returned ungraded. . To compose a complete and successful essay, you must:
• state your main argument up front in the first paragraph, directly and plainly, and remark upon its significance—do not simply promise vaguely to discuss various subjects;
• take a stand and advance an insightful argument of your own, in your own voice, through a thoughtful analysis and interpretation of the text—do not simply describe and summarize what is said in the text;
• focus your objectives and narrow your scope in a fashion befitting the time and space allotted for this assignment—do not attempt something too ambitious, broad, vague, or superficial;
• allow your argument to govern and organize the paper as a whole and make its structure evident to the reader so that it is clear how the steps you take contribute to achieving your goals—the reader should never wonder why you are going on about something;
• use the assigned edition of the text and provide ample evidence to support your reading of it, including citations not only for every quotation but also when you are paraphrasing—that way the reader will be more impressed by how attentively and thoroughly you have examined the source material;
• give due consideration to relevant counterevidence, objections, or alternative explanations— because ignoring them makes your argument weaker, not stronger;
• carefully proofread your essay so that it actually says what you mean to say in polished prose. Additional Guidelines Read the assigned text with an open mind and a generous spirit, maintaining a sense of wonder as you approach it so that you may be open to learning something from it. Allow the elements of a text that seem disagreeable or confusing to serve as occasions for further reflection and investigation. Make an effort to understand the author’s positions before passing judgment on them. Nuance and even-handedness are preferable to simplification and onesidedness. Stylistically, you may employ the first person (e.g., “At first, this seemed like a contradiction to me, but I will argue that the apparent tension may be resolved by…”), but this assignment is not a venue for giving expansive expression to your beliefs, opinions, preferences, convictions, ideology, etc. Do not simply indicate whether or not you approve or disapprove of something on the basis of a selective reading of history, your take on current events, or your personal values, priorities, or experiences. Neither rely on the correctness of your political opinions nor try to flatter the instructor by adopting what you take to be his views. For the purposes of this assignment, we cannot evaluate your personal views—moral, political, religious, aesthetic, or otherwise. To prepare an argument of your own that does not simply restate material from the assigned text, consider drawing attention to the logic of an argument found in the assigned text, identifying and exploring its limits, deficiencies, or brilliance. Tease out unspoken assumptions or implications. Interrogate the meanings that words are given within the text and consider what they imply or entail. Observe connections between parts of the text, especially if something said in one place has significance for what is said elsewhere. Anything you find perplexing provides an opportunity to uncover a puzzle and try to solve it. An essay that accurately offers safe and simple observations, comparisons, or complaints is less impressive than even a flawed endeavour to advance something more complicated and penetrating. If you think you have found an easy answer, it probably isn’t worth offering. Modest, provisional, or conditional conclusions are preferable to exaggerations regarding the scope and certitude of your conclusions. Acknowledge the limits of your own analysis. Refrain from straightforwardly applying prefabricated interpretive frameworks, ideological lenses, or technical jargon foreign to the material under analysis. Also, strictly historical or biographical papers are not suitable for this class. Avoid all reductionism. References to historical context or impact, literary or cultural references, and illustrative examples of your own invention may be used to situate, supplement, or illuminate your argument, but they must not serve as decisive evidence or constitute the main focus of your essay. Remember that quotations do not make arguments for you. Do not use excessive or long quotations to pad for length. Never cite lectures or classroom discussion as authoritative sources. You cannot appeal to secondary sources to save you the trouble of thinking through the text for yourself, either. Anyone else’s interpretations or criticisms must be evaluated using evidence and arguments of your own. Some rhetorical adornment will enhance your paper, but avoid polemical excesses. Rhetorical questions in particular rarely make arguments worth making, so use them sparingly. Do not waste the short space allotted to you in this assignment by relating biographical facts or broad references to historical context. Avoid long introductions or drawn out conclusions. Dive right into your argument and make every sentence count.
