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General
Comments on Course Journals It is important to
remember that these journals should serve at least a few central functions in
this class. They provide you the opportunity to think carefully and critically
(does not mean dismissively or simply negatively) about the material we are
reading in this class. Here you are able to test out your understanding of the
material –so we can determine where you need some assistance, and so we
can get some help in understanding this material. Moreover, remember that a
good portion of your grade will depend upon your ability to write a strong
essay at the end of the semester. You can, and should, use your journal to
practice writing such essays –to gain a certain familiarity and flexibility
or agility with the concepts, arguments, ideas, and themes of the material
such that you can think and write coherently, carefully, clearly,
critically, and concisely about it. Finally, the journals provide us
with some measure of where your own thinking is at, and is taking you,
concerning the content of this course, and so some measure of your ability to
do work coherently, carefully, clearly, critically, and
concisely with this material –so that we may provide help as it is needed.
Now, in light of this, there are some general comments that should be made
concerning the journals. 1. Breadth and Focus. We are covering a rather astonishing
wealth of material in this class, and it is both unreasonable and unhelpful to
expect you to comment on every possible aspect of it. It is unreasonable,
because we want you to write a journal, not a multi-volume dissertation. It is
unhelpful, because if you try to comment on everything, your comments will
merely skim the surface of the content and will be far too cursory to provide
much help to us in assessing your understanding, or you in trying to work out
your understanding. So, a suggestion: for each of your entries, try to adopt a
thesis or theme that comes from or relates to the specific texts that we are
reading in class –the specific texts we are reading for that week. This will
allow you to focus your thoughts and ideas, and will allow you to provide
elaborated expositions of the texts without sacrificing concise-ness. (You can
select your own themes of course, and we will also offer some possibilities
each week. Generally, you should either pursue one theme as an organizing
point for discussing material from both classes, or you should adopt two
themes, one for each class.) 2. Reference the Text. As you think through the theme make some
direct reference to the texts –specifically, try to trace out the arguments
or concepts in those texts. You can focus on only one argument/concept, and if
we are reading more than one text, you can focus on only one text –though,
periodically, you should lift your head and try to put it all together.
Moreover, make direct reference to the written word of the text –that is, read
the text in your journal reflections. Take a quote from, say, Heraclitus
(“we both are and are not”) and ponder it. Or, as you are summarizing and
critically explicating/evaluating an argument, make reference to specific
passages –just make sure you cite properly. The idea here is for you
to provide some support for your interpretation/understanding/evaluation of
the material –if you want to call Socrates a “jerk” then you should be
able to point to specific textual evidence of his “jerk-ness”. [An
example, consider that in the Phaedo Socrates is trying to convince his
friends/students that the best life to live is the philosophical life, and that
this life is a life spent in preparation for death. Hence, no philosopher should
fear death. So, how is the philosophical life described here? What makes it a
preparation for death? How does the body fit into this life? What are the
specific arguments that Socrates makes trying to convince you that this is the
best life, that the soul is immortal, and that the body is evil? Why is the body
evil, why must Socrates/Plato denigrate the body in order to articulate the
strength of a philosophical life? And then, of course, do you agree? How does
Socrates challenge your self-conception, your own conception of the “good
life”, or your own understanding of the nature of the world? Note how
articulating this focus –on the theme of the Phaedo– opens up a whole
host of interesting and important questions around which you could organize your
thinking. You don’t have to answer all of these questions, but you can choose
from among them and organize your thinking accordingly. Notice, how all of these
questions go together –so there is a sense that in answering one, you are
implicitly answering them all.] 3. Self-reflection. Also, periodically, you should read your own
journal –reflect back on your previous ideas and thoughts, draw connections
between the material from different weeks and from different components of the
course. For example, after reading the Phaedo did your opinion of
Socrates’ character (originally based on readings of the Euthyphro and Apology)
change? If so, how and why? (Remember to reference specific textual evidence.)
Or, how does Socrates’ answer to the fact of death as a part of a human life
differ from the answer provided in the Epic of Gilgamesh? Along these
same lines, explicitly reflect and respond to our comments on your
journal –you can use our questions to help you make connections between
various entries, or various thinkers or ideas, etc. Remember that a portion of
your journal grade will be based on its over-all development throughout the
course, and this will be measured primarily in terms of your responding to our
comments on your thoughts (our reflections on your reflections, your reflections
on our reflections of your reflections, and hence we have a written
conversation). 4. The West. This sounds like a lot, but trust us, you can do
this –at the back of your mind you should keep the question “what is the
West?” percolating (and, just what is the proper way of asking this
question?). And, periodically, as possible insights strike you, you should make
this question part of your journal reflections (e.g. does Socrates’ view of
the body have an impact on contemporary western culture? Are there any traces of
this still to be found? How does it affect our self-understanding and our
relation to other cultures?) 5. Organization. Generally, any method of organizing is fine so
long as the following basic guidelines are met: (a) you should reflect on both
components of the course (philosophy and humanities); (b) you should (at least
periodically) try to draw connections between these two components; and (c) you
should try to follow the general pattern of the course –that is, keep up with
the material. Some people do one entry per week, and this is fine –so long as
you reflect deeply on both material from humanities and philosophy. Some people
do two entries per week, one for humanities and one for philosophy, and this is
fine, so long as you periodically try to relate these to one another. 6. A few final comments.
First, please try to write with some attention to the basic rules and forms of
English grammar. That is, avoid errors in sentence construction etc. such that
it is hard to comprehend your meaning. Second, engage this material. This
is interesting stuff –your work ought to do it justice by being itself interesting!
Remember, we are reading a lot of work here –keep us interested in what you
have to say.
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