500 words argument

Need help with my Philosophy question – I’m studying for my class.

Philosophy 130

Critical Reading Responses

All reading responses and are to be uploaded digitally to Canvas as a Microsoft Word Doc or

PDF.

Reading Response #2: What is William Paley’s argument from design? Evaluate how

successful or unsuccessful you think the argument is.

Formatting

Two Pages (500-700 words)

Double-Spaced

1 inch margins

12 point Times New Roman Font

Point Breakdown:

1. Introduction/Thesis (5 points)

2. Argument Reconstruction (10 points)

3. Evaluation of Argument (10 points)

a. Objection

b. Response

Critical Reading Response Components:

1. Introduction/Thesis: Introduce the topic of the paper that you will be analyzing. State

your thesis as precisely as you can.

Before you write your thesis, answer the following questions:

What is the conclusion (the statement, claim or belief) the author is

attempting to persuade the reader to accept? [note: a statement is truth

functional, i.e., can be either true or false; therefore, you can take a stand on

whether you think the conclusion is correct or incorrect]

Has the author provided adequate reasons to accept the statement, claim or

belief he or she is asserting? If so, why do you find these reasons

compelling? If not, why do you find these reasons lacking?

Your thesis should be a concise and clear articulation of the position you are taking

and why you are taking that position (one to two sentences).

Example thesis: Author A argues that X; however, Author A’s position that X is open

to the serious objection Y.

2. Argument Reconstruction: Reconstruct the author’s claim and argument in your own

words. (1-2 paragraphs)

In your own words, lay out the argument the author is putting forward. You will

want to make the logical content of the argument explicit by demonstrating that you

understand the reasons that are being given in support of the author’s central claim.

Paragraph Structure:

Topic Sentence (1): Articulate the main idea that is the subject of your

paragraph (a paragraph should deal with no more than one central idea.

Since this is an argument reconstruction, the main idea of the paragraph will

be the author’s central claim.)

Sentence (2) – Elaboration of the topic sentence. The reasoning the author

gives in support of their central claim.

Sentence (3) – Elaboration of sentence (2). Further reasoning.

Sentence (4) – Elaboration of sentence (3). Further reasoning.

Concluding sentence (5) – Summarize and restate the central idea of the

paragraph.

3. Evaluation of Argument: Evaluate the author’s argument or claim (1-2 paragraphs).

a. Raise an objection to the argument or claim.

What objections can be raised to the argument that you just

reconstructed? Even if you agree with the claim the author is putting forward,

raise a potential objection.

Paragraph Structure: Just like with the argument reconstruction, your topic sentence

should be a clear and concise articulation of the central claim your objection consists

of. Your supporting sentences should offer the reasons why you think this objection

is warranted. Your concluding sentence should sum up all that you have said thus far

in the paragraph.

b. Respond to objection

Generate a 2-3 sentence response to the objection you have just raised.