Philosophy – Designated Central Argument

General Instructions For each paper, you will critically assess one of the Designated Central Arguments from the textbook, chosen from the list below. Your paper must engage with the textbook, by working with the precise formulations of the arguments and definitions of key terms presented in the textbook, and by discussing (or at least acknowledging) any passages from the textbook that are directly relevant to your own arguments and objections. Your paper may take one of two forms. The first option is to write a Standard Essay in which you criticize or defend a Designated Central Argument of your choosing. (Note: If you choose this option, you are strongly advised to criticize the selected argument, since the textbook already defends the argumentunless you plan either to defend it against objections that the textbook does not already discuss or to defend it differently from how the textbook does.) Detailed advice for writing the Standard Essay can be found in Appendix B of the textbook. The second option is a Debating AI Essay. For this option, you will criticize or defend a Designated Central Argument of your choosing in a discussion with ChatGPT (or an alternative LLM), and then write a paper reporting the results of your examination. Detailed advice for writing the Debating AI Essay can be found in the document on Canvas titled Debating AI Essay Advice. You are permitted to use outside sources (other than the textbook and AI) when writing your papers, but I dont recommend doing so. If you choose to consult outside sources, make sure not to plagiarize them. More below on permitted and prohibited uses of AI. Further Instructions Papers must be under 1400 words. There is no minimum word count, but a paper below 1000 words is unlikely to do well. Include a word count and your perm number at the beginning of your paper Submit your paper as a Word document or pdf Papers will be blind graded, so do not include your name in the paper or in the name of the document Each paper must include an AI-Contribution Statement For Debating AI Essay option only: Include a link to your discussion with ChatGPT. You have to set up a (free) account at before you begin; otherwise, you wont be able to generate a link. When youre in the chat, click Share in the top right corner to generate a link. Deadlines are listed above Designated Central Arguments for Paper 2 The Conjoined Twins Argument (ch.3) The Body Swap Argument (ch.3) The Blackout Argument (ch.3) The Fission Argument (ch.3) The Against Fearing Death argument (ch. 4) The Desire Argument (ch. 5) The Argument from Determinism (ch. 5) The Against Knowing the Future argument (ch. 6) The Dreaming Argument (ch. 6)