HUM 1500 CU The Pursuit of Truths Philosophical Reflection Essay

Touchstone 1: Philosophical Reflection
Essay
ASSIGNMENT: Write a 3-4 page (approximately 700-1000 words) reflection
essay about the impact of the philosophical mindset and ancient Greek
philosophy, as presented in this course, on your own views.
In order to foster learning and growth, all essays you submit must be newly
written specifically for this course. Any plagiarized or recycled work will result in a
Plagiarism Detected alert. Review this tutorial for more about plagiarism and the
Plagiarism Detected alert: Touchstones: Academic Integrity Guidelines.
A. Assignment Guidelines
DIRECTIONS: As reported in Plato’s account The Apology, Socrates famously
claimed at his trial that “The unexamined life is not worth living.” In this course,
you have had the opportunity to examine your own life and reality through the
thoughts of the ancient Greek philosophers. The purpose of this Touchstone
assignment is for you (1) to engage with the philosophical ideas presented in this
course and (2) to reflect on how these philosophical ideas have impacted your
own life.
Part I: Philosophical Thinking
In the first part of the Touchstone, you will be distinguishing between the three
primary branches of philosophy.
Consider the three following questions:
• What is knowledge?
• What is reality made of?
• What is the good life and how ought I to live it?
These are the basic questions that were considered in different forms by the
major figures in ancient Greek philosophy. But they are also critical questions for
our own lives today, whether we are philosophers or not.
Part I of this assignment should be approximately 1-2 pages (300-600 words)
and cover each of the following steps:
1. First, you should define philosophy and then distinguish and define each
of the three main branches of philosophy covered in this class.
2. Then, identify which of the above questions is associated with each
branch of philosophy.
3. You should illustrate the differences between the three branches of
philosophy using examples from the course. For example, explain how
Socrates would answer the question “What is knowledge?” or how
Epictetus would answer the question “What is the good life?”
You will use information and examples from the Sophia tutorials to support your
response. When citing material from a tutorial, please include the name of the
lesson and use the following format:
• In-text citation: (Aristotle’s Highest Good, n.d.) or (The Footnotes to
Plato, n.d.).
Part II: Reflection
For the second part of the Touchstone, now that you’ve distinguished between
the three main branches of philosophy, you will focus on one of those three
questions from Part I and use that as a starting point and guide for your personal
philosophical reflection.
The purpose of Part II is for you to reflect on the philosophical mindset and some
of the ideas presented in this course and apply them to your own life. This
reflection is more open-ended than Part I, but should include reflections on the
following questions:
1. What does it mean to think philosophically? How can thinking
philosophically help me in my own life?
2. What impact do the ideas of the ancient Greek philosophers have on my
own views and opinions?
3. Then, based on these reflections, you should give your own answer to
whichever of the three questions from Part I you chose to focus on,
using cited examples from the course to support your answer. (“What is
knowledge?”; “What is reality?”; “What is the good life?”)
Part II of this assignment should be approximately 1-2 pages (300-600 words).
You should write at least one paragraph for each of the three prompts listed
above.
In answering these reflection questions, you are free to draw from your own
experiences as well as bringing in the ideas of different ancient Greek
philosophers. Please note: Some philosophers will be more suited for particular
questions than others. For example, Epictetus has a lot to say about “What is the
good life and how ought I to live it?” while not saying much about knowledge or
reality. Plato and Aristotle wrote a great deal about all three questions.
B. Completion Guidelines
Refer to the checklist below throughout the writing process. Do not submit your
Touchstone until it meets these guidelines.
Part I: Philosophical Thinking
❒ Have you defined philosophy and the three main branches of
philosophy?
❒ Have you identified which branch of philosophy each of the three basic
philosophical questions (“What is knowledge?”; “What is reality?”; “What is
the good life?”) corresponds to?
❒ Have you used cited examples from the course to illustrate the
differences between the three branches of philosophy?
Part II: Reflection
❒ Have you selected one of the three basic philosophical questions from
Part I to focus on?
❒ Have you reflected on what philosophical thinking means to you?
❒ Have you reflected on how the ideas of the ancient Greek philosophers
can impact your own views and opinions?
❒ Have you given your own answer to whichever of the three questions
from Part I you chose to focus on in Part II, and provided cited examples
from the course to support your answer?
Conventions
❒ Have you checked your essay for grammatical and mechanical errors?
❒ Have you used spell check or another method to check spelling?
❒ Have you cited examples from the course using the in-text citation
instructions?
Before you Submit
❒ Have you included your name, date, and course at the top left of the
page?
❒ Is your essay between 3-4 pages (approximately 700-1000 words)?
C. Rubric
Definitions (10 points)
Properly define philosophy and
distinguish and define each of the
three main branches of philosophy
covered in this class.
Connections (5 points)
Advanced (100%)
Proficient (80%)
Ne
Clearly defines philosophy and each of
the three main branches of philosophy.
Clearly defines philosophy and each of
the three main branches of philosophy,
except for one of the above.
Clear
three
two o
Clearly and correctly connects each of
the philosophical questions with the
Clearly and correctly connects each of the
philosophical questions with the
Clear
philo
Advanced (100%)
Proficient (80%)
Ne
Connect each of the philosophical
questions with the associated branch
of philosophy as defined in the
course.
associated branch of philosophy as
defined in the course.
associated branch of philosophy as
defined in the course, except for one of
the above.
branc
excep
Examples (20 points)
Clearly illustrates each of the three
branches of philosophy, using cited
examples from the course.
Clearly illustrates at least two of the three
branches of philosophy, using cited
examples from the course.
Clear
branc
from
Clearly and accurately describes
philosophical thinking. Offers an
example of how it helps in a personal
way.
For the most part, clearly and accurately
describes philosophical thinking, and
offers an example of how it helps in a
personal way.
Inacc
philo
exam
Clearly identifies and describes a
significant influence of philosophical
viewpoints from the course on personal
views and opinions. Engagement with
course material is evident.
Identifies and describes the influence of
philosophical viewpoints from the course
on personal views and opinions.
Engagement with course material is less
evident.
Ident
philo
perso
cours
Clearly selects a single philosophical
question to explore. Provides a personal
answer to the question and fully explains
their thinking with several additional
details. Engagement with course material
is evident.
Clearly selects a single philosophical
question to explore. Provides a personal
answer to the question and partially
explains their thinking with a few
additional details. Engagement with
course material is less evident.
Does
quest
perso
expla
Enga
absen
Illustrate the differences between the
three branches of philosophy, using
cited examples from the course.
Philosophical Thinking (5
points)
Describe philosophical thinking and
reflect on how it can help in a
personal way.
Impact (10 points)
Describe the influence of
philosophical viewpoints from the
course on personal views and
opinions.
Reflection (25 points)
Select a single philosophical
question to explore. Provide and
explain your personal reflection on
the question using cited examples
from the course to support your
answer.
D. Requirements
The following requirements must be met for your submission to be graded:
• Your draft must be 3-4 page (approximately 700-1000 words)
• Double-space your submission and use one-inch margins.
• Use a readable 12-point font.
• All writing must be appropriate for an academic context.
• Your submission must be original and written for this assignment.
• Plagiarism of any kind is strictly prohibited.
• In-text citations should use this style: (Aristotle’s Highest Good, n.d.)
• Your submission must include your name, the name of the course, the
date, and the title of your composition.
• Include all of the assignment components in a single file.
•
Acceptable file formats include .doc and .docx.