Philosophy Question

Rene Descartes and Betrand Russel their focus on Epistemology

Use these 3 sources only for the paper. No outside sources, and tie the paper to at least one popular film, book, event, or t.v. series to tie the Philosophers’ theories to contemporary issues, e.g., the movie Pay it Forward for Mill’s Utilitarianism, or 7 Pounds for Kant’s Categorical Imperative. (The Good Place and the Matrix have been used too much. Do not use them.)

The 3 sources to are attached and need to be the only sources used throughout the paper. Please cite exact quotes with page and paragraph numbers where the direct quote was found. 1500-2500 words.

For the final assignment of this course, you are asked to research, think about, and write about two philosophers we have studied during the course.

Choose one philosopher whose ideas, theories, and methods of argumentation and methods of reasoning in relation to a particular philosophical issue you (personally) find to be strong; and

Choose one philosopher whose whose ideas, theories, and methods of argumentation and methods of reasoning in relation to a particular philosophical issue you (personally) find to be weak.

Study them again, in more depth. Choose an aspect of their teachings to focus in on, such as Descartes on Doubt, Aristotle on Happiness, or Sartre on Freedom. In your paper, thoroughly summarize and explain the two Philosophers’ theory, with careful citations. Then explain why you find the theories of one, but not the other, to be strong. Give a clear argument or rationale for your position!

You must evaluate the two chosen Philosophers’ theories themselves, on their own terms, and determine whether you personally think they put forth a good argument. DO NOT state whether or not you agree with them. Mere agreement or disagreement does not meet the required level of critical thinking. State who did their job better, and why.

Summarize a central theory of your chosen two Philosophers’ theory in your own words. Use direct quotes with page numbers. Then go on to explain your own position about the strength and weakness of their theory, in a strong first person voice.

Your project should cite at least three (3) sources from course content and be 1500-2500 words. Use the first-person voice when describing why you find the theories strong or weak. Give the paper your own unique stamp of originality. Take ownership of the entire process and the opinions you present.

Refer at length to at least one popular film, book, event, or t.v. series to tie the Philosophers’ theories to contemporary issues, e.g., the movie Pay it Forward for Mill’s Utilitarianism, or 7 Pounds for Kant’s Categorical Imperative. (The Good Place and the Matrix have been used too much. Do not use them.)

NOTE: Artificial Intelligence-based resources* are pretty good at generating general essays on the Philosophers. They’re also halfway decent at suggesting opinions that could be formed about the topic at hand. But they are terrible at describing, for example, what’s going on at your workplace and how you wish Immanuel Kant were there to help iron it out, or how you felt when you watched your favorite Black Mirror episode, or what you think Jean-Paul Sartre would say about the Ethics of climate activism.

For this assignment, first choose two Philosophers such as Descartes and Russell, and an area such as Epistemology. Then identify a current event, situation or film that involves the area, such as Inception (found on this IMDB list: Poll – Films that Play with the Concept of Reality But remember, The Matrix is not eligible.) Review your two Philosophers’ theories in the Recommended Reading, draft up a quick summary in your own words with several key quotes (record the page numbers so you don’t have to go back and find them later). Then go on to bring in your specific example. You can transition with something to the effect of, “One of my favorite films ever is Memento (Summit Entertainment, 2000). In it, Leonard Shelby (the main character) experiences: ………. In studying Descartes and Russell, while both Philosophers’ theories can be applied to the movie, I find Russell’s arguments about knowledge of reality much more convincing. I think that what he says about knowledge by acquaintance applies perfectly to the storyline of Memento in this way: …….. (The Problems of Philosophy, 1912, p 25) It is a much more convincing line of reasoning than Descartes’ theory ‘Cogito ergo sum,’ Decartes’ attempt to prove that nothing except the self can be known with any certainty fall short. Here is why I think that: …….. (Descartes, 1640, p 78)

You are not asked to focus on which Philosopher you agree with the most; only focus on which one you think gave better arguments for the points being made, and which one did not – as it relates to, in this case, the Epistemology questions that arise in the movie Memento.

There isn’t time to research everything the Philosophers taught, so be selective in what you include. No padding your paper with tons of biographical information about them. If you do decide to refer briefly to their personal lives or the year they spent in a cave, etc., cite the page number! No information that isn’t considered “common knowledge” is allowed to be included in your paper without a citation. The only exception is when you are summarizing the plot of a film, book, new item or t.v. series. One initial citation is sufficient for that type of thing.

Remember, provide thorough internal documentation of your sources, including specific and accurate page numbers as well as a References or Works Cited section at the end. Retrieval dates are mandatory, including for PDFs, just like you’ve done in your other homework assignments. Always credit information, concepts, and knowldge that you did not previously possess! NO external sources* allowed without prior approval. *Including — but not limited to: Course Hero, Chegg, quizlet, and OpenAI or related.

Use only the course materials (exact excerpts) in your Final Paper.