Comments on: What makes the process of writing philosophy papers different than that of other disciplines? http://oceanofthought.com/philosophy/what-makes-the-process-of-writing-philosophy-papers-different-than-that-of-other-disciplines/ [ dive into the mind, where deep thoughts arise ] Wed, 10 Feb 2010 11:02:54 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.0 By: Tom J http://oceanofthought.com/philosophy/what-makes-the-process-of-writing-philosophy-papers-different-than-that-of-other-disciplines/comment-page-1/#comment-6590 Tom J Tue, 01 Dec 2009 17:34:16 +0000 http://oceanofthought.com/philosophy/what-makes-the-process-of-writing-philosophy-papers-different-than-that-of-other-disciplines/#comment-6590 It is a different sort of writing because, more so than any other branch of the humanities, it is based around (in fact, entirely grounded upon) logic and maths. You cannot (or at least should not) persaude your reader with rhetoric. You must be infinitely careful, consistent and detailed in your definitions. Almost every statement should be reducable to a logical equation. In essence, a philosophy paper is really just an elaborate mathematical equation, with words substituted for numbers. In short, very different to any other discipline. It is a different sort of writing because, more so than any other branch of the humanities, it is based around (in fact, entirely grounded upon) logic and maths.

You cannot (or at least should not) persaude your reader with rhetoric. You must be infinitely careful, consistent and detailed in your definitions. Almost every statement should be reducable to a logical equation.

In essence, a philosophy paper is really just an elaborate mathematical equation, with words substituted for numbers. In short, very different to any other discipline.

]]> By: bandontherun http://oceanofthought.com/philosophy/what-makes-the-process-of-writing-philosophy-papers-different-than-that-of-other-disciplines/comment-page-1/#comment-6589 bandontherun Tue, 01 Dec 2009 05:31:39 +0000 http://oceanofthought.com/philosophy/what-makes-the-process-of-writing-philosophy-papers-different-than-that-of-other-disciplines/#comment-6589 well maybe because in philosophy you have to be more critical than usual and not make contradictions to your own beliefs. i think is as you said the process of writing shouldnt be any different but it is because a philosophy professor will look more in depth than any other professor so in that sense a philosophy professor or anyone in philosophy will be more alert to what you write about which other professors dont unless is math and math is just numbers. when writing a paper in any class you can get away with writing a crappy paper and they only see if you turn it in means you tried and that's enough and in philosophy you have to turn in a paper that is coherent in all levels.if you are a good writer you already have a good critical practice and whether is philosophy or anyother the writing process i believe it to be the same of course in philosophy you need to know more about the claims you write about while in other subjects you can fool the professor in making it seen that you know or at least put an interest that is enough for most of them. well maybe because in philosophy you have to be more critical than usual and not make contradictions to your own beliefs. i think is as you said the process of writing shouldnt be any different but it is because a philosophy professor will look more in depth than any other professor so in that sense a philosophy professor or anyone in philosophy will be more alert to what you write about which other professors dont unless is math and math is just numbers. when writing a paper in any class you can get away with writing a crappy paper and they only see if you turn it in means you tried and that’s enough and in philosophy you have to turn in a paper that is coherent in all levels.if you are a good writer you already have a good critical practice and whether is philosophy or anyother the writing process i believe it to be the same of course in philosophy you need to know more about the claims you write about while in other subjects you can fool the professor in making it seen that you know or at least put an interest that is enough for most of them.

]]>