Rape Culture -Argument Focused Paper

In this paper, you will articulate and defend a philosophical thesis.

 

I. Introduction: In about 200 words, introduce your reader to the topic. You can start with a quick case that demonstrates your point. Please do not ask a series of rhetorical questions. Your introduction should also include the following components:

 

Thesis: In the first paragraph, state your thesis and bold the text. Your thesis should be strong and clear. Your thesis should not be a question, but a declarative statement.

For Example good thesis: In this paper I will argue that “cancel culture” does not violate the right to free speech.

Roadmap: Clearly describe the organization of your paper. This is just a reflection of the structure mandated by the structure given to you here.

 

For example: In Section II, I will summarize the argument that “cancel culture” violates the right to free speech. In Section III, I give evidence that the definition of “cancel culture” is unclear. In Section IV, I will use this evidence to argue that “cancel culture” does not violate the right to free speech. In Section V, I will offer an objection to my claim that the definition of “cancel culture” is unclear. In Section VI, I will show how this objection fails to clarify the definition of “cancel culture” and thus fails to provide sufficient evidence that my thesis is false.

 

II. Summary/Exposition: In about 300 words, clearly summarize the issue that your thesis addresses. In this section, you should not be arguing for your thesis, but just clearly describing the topic at hand and breaking the topic into its relevant parts. So, for the good thesis above, I might give some examples of people who have been “cancelled”.

 

III. Tools: In about 300-400 words, clearly describe the tools that you will be using to argue for your thesis. The tools could be a concept, someone else’s argument, or a thought experiment. Whatever you choose as your tools, you should not be arguing for your thesis in this section. So, for the thesis above, I might describe the concept of “cancel culture”, define free speech, and describe what constitutes a violation of free speech.

 

IV. Application: In about 500-800 words, argue for your thesis using the tools you have developed in the previous section. Remember, the conclusion of the argument and your thesis should be the same thing. In addition, you need not argue for every premise your argument requires—if you think it is close to universally accepted or proved through some scientific literature, then you can assume the premise, but make sure to state this.

 

V: Objections: In about 300-400 words, provide the best objection to your argument. Remember, you will likely want to target the logical structure of your argument, argue that one of the premises is false, or explain why the explanation you offer is not the best explanation (depending on the argument type).

 

VI: Response: In about 200-250 words, respond to the objection(s) you raised to your argument—state why the objection doesn’t work. Be careful not to make strawmans out of your objections. Remember, if we care about the truth, we should care about serious objections to our arguments.

 

VII: Conclusion: In about 200 words, restate your thesis while wrapping up your discussion. You might also want to mention some upshots or consequences of your argument.

 

 

 

Source and Citation Requirements

In order to make your argument, you will need to refer to other philosophical materials. You must include direct reference to at least two philosophical texts. These may be texts we have already gone over in the course, but they need not be (for example, they may be texts we have not gotten to yet or texts/papers that I did not assign). If you have questions, just ask me. Lectures and handouts may be cited by they do not count as one of the two required texts.

 

Tips & Suggestions

1. Even though what you write may be for a single section, this does not mean that it should be in one long paragraph. For example, the Application section will likely be split up into 3-5 paragraphs that will be organized in an optimal way to argue for your thesis. Long paragraphs are confusing and difficult to follow.

2. Utilize your roadmap. make sure your roadmap actually follows the structure of your paper.

3. Choose your thesis wisely. The most common problem with undergraduate philosophy papers is that the thesis is too broad. Choose one thing to argue and then stick with it. Anything that isn’t in direct service to your thesis can be cut out of the paper. My example thesis here is very specific, which is good. So, you shouldn’t pick something like, “I will argue that God exists,” but rather something like, “B rejects X premise used in arguments for the existence of God. I will argue that B is wrong to reject X.

4. Make sure you’ve argued for your thesis and not some other thesis. After you’ve written the paper, re-read it and make sure your thesis matches your argument. If it turns out you’ve argued for something else—don’t panic! Just change your thesis.

5. In both the Summary/Exposition and the Tools sections, make sure to just provide a descriptive account. This is particularly important in the Summary section because you haven’t built up the concepts that you will use to evaluate the issue yet. If you bring a normative evaluation in too soon, the reader may not follow you or you could be begging the question (assuming that your conclusion is true in order to argue for the conclusion).

 

 

1. research rape culture in our society and how it ties into philosophy. I could relate it to a couple of topics, such as ethics, epistemology, and cultural imperialism.

2. Some questions that I might ask in my paper may be:

– Is it human nature or is it the manner in which men are raised that ultimately influences their actions related to rape culture?

– Women should be the experts but are systematically excluded because they are universally inferior to men, why is that? (Standpoint Epistemology, Cultural Imperialism)

– Explore double consciousness.

– Is Rape Culture ethical?

 

 

Possible Thesis: In this paper I will argue that Rape Culture is prevalent in our society because it is normalized as part of our culture.