PHIL 130 William Paley’s Argument from Design Essay

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)
4. Objection
5. Response

Critical Reading Response Components:

1. Introduction/Thesis: Introduce the topic of the paper that you will be analysing. 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) – Summarise and restate the central idea of the paragraph.

3. Evaluation of Argument: Evaluate the author’s argument or claim (1-2 paragraphs).
4. 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.

1. Respond to objection

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

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