25 Jan For this prompt you must dive deep into several civilizations in order to explain what sort of societal or metaphysical role the artist played
How has the role of the artist changed throughout history? For this prompt you must dive deep into several civilizations in order to explain what sort of societal or metaphysical role the artist played. Juxtapose these different societies to come to some framework for discussing what is culturally conditioned and what is not about the artist. Please do not just tell the story of how art has changed (don’t do too much history), but rather try to describe the philosophy behind the changing political position of the artist. Essentially the point is to talk about how the role of the artist has changed in history in terms of philosophies, philosophers and their theories.
2000 WORDS AND CITE EVERYTHING
YOU ARE REQUIRED TO USE MULTIPLE QUOTES FROM THE FOLLOWING TEXTS: USE
ATLEAST 2-3 TEXTS
1. Aztec Thought and Culture by Miguel Leon Portilla
2. Daily life of the ancient Egyptians by Bob Brier
3. The Creative Process by James Baldwin
4. The Mind in the Cave by David Lewis Williams
5. ANY OTHER TEXT FROM PHILOSOPHERS
● First axiom: You must demonstrate how much you have learned about a philosopher.
Keep this in mind in every paragraph of your essay. Generally, the best way to do this is
through exegesis, meaning you must take difficult quotes and dissect them.
● Second axiom: Outside sources in moderation. Outside sources are most definitely
encouraged, as they can add a unique dimension to the paper, and can help to achieve
‘depth’ points. However, what you want to avoid at all costs is the outside sources
crowding out the sources we have studied in this class. If you add quotations from some
of Plato’s other books then that is absolutely fantastic. But if you relate an outside
sociological study to Plato’s thinking, for example, then be very sure that the time you
spend on the source is proportional to how much it helps to explain Plato.
● The general paragraph format of introducing a quotation, citing the quotation, and
explaining the quotation is a good starting point for building your paragraphs. However,
‘A’ papers will require a depth of interpretation. To really write an excellent philosophy
paper the explanation of the quote is crucial. For example, a well-chosen quote cannot
be explained in a sentence or two. An ‘A’ paper will have a very thorough explanation of
a quotation (think of how long we sometimes spend on just a single line of a
philosopher), this explanation will be well organized, and focused. When you quote a
philosopher, try to go beyond the quote itself: don’t just tell me what the quote means,
tell me what the quote means and how it relates to the rest of the thinkers philosophy, to
a larger concept you are pushing, to the thinker’s historical context, ect.
● Introductions: An introduction should frame your argument and prepare your reader.
Have you noticed how important it is to understand context when you receive a message
from someone else? For example, imagine if we began our first class without any
preliminaries, just jumping right into a text. Can you see how much more difficult it would
be to understand the text if you didn’t know where we were going? This is the job of the
introduction. There is a reason that I say the first lines of any book are the most
important. Be very thoughtful about the first lines of your paper.
● Depth: Importantly, you need to analyze a quote, you can’t assume that it’s meaning is
obvious. If it really is absolutely obvious, then choose a different quote. To really write an
excellent philosophy paper the explanation of the quote is crucial. For example, a
well-chosen quote cannot be explained in a sentence or two. An ‘A’ paper will have a
very thorough explanation of a quotation (think of how long we sometimes spend on just
a single line of a philosopher), this explanation will be well organized, and focused.
Really think deeply about both the philosopher and the philosophical question. Try to
move to abstract principles: show me that you understand both the project of the
philosopher, the greater questions at stake, the historical context, ect.
● Organization: An ‘A’ paper will be extremely well organized. Give a lot of thought as to
why certain paragraphs are coming before or after certain others. Transitions are
important for organization. Do not let your paper wander. It is OK to go on a tangent as
long as you reconnect that tangent to the main point. You should by the end be able to
take a bird’s eye view of your paper and say “this is what this paragraph is doing, which
leads us to the next idea which is expressed in the next paragraph, which leaves us with
a question which is answered in the next paragraph” and so on.
