Exam Essay

Dear Students

In your exam essays please remember to select examples and to evaluate (criticise) as well as describe. For example, if you were asked to "assess hard determinism", you should spend a third of the essay describing what it is, then a third giving some examples that clarify what it is and its implications, then a third on a series of coherently linked criticisms - before reaching a conclusion that clearly answers the question. You cannot score very well if you don't evaluate the arguments. You can counter-counterargue the counterarguments, of course.

Good luck. I am in school on Monday if you want to ask anything.

Revision

Dear Students

For Friday's exam, please revise Reason and Experience, Persons and the first God unit. I have some handouts that a few of you asked for. The Reason and Experience question is compulsory.

Please read the relevant sections of the textbook. Revise all the topics thoroughly. Remember there will be shorter Part A questions and longer (essay length) Part B questions, where examples and fully developed arguments are required. On the blog, below, you will find posts on Personal Identity, Introduction to Reason and Experience, Rationalism, Empiricism, Criticisms of Empiricism and, lastly, Conceptual Schemes. You may need to click on Older Posts to read the earlier ones. Read them carefully. Make notes from them and from the textbook and other sources. Make sure you understand. This subject is much less about knowledge (although you are expected to know things!) as about understanding and arguing rationally.

Ask me questions via the blog.

Good luck!