What is personal identity?

This assignment has two aims: (1) To clearly and accurately present a philosophical issue and another
person’s position on that issue (whether you agree with them or not), by explaining their reasoning and
conclusions, and (2) to present a well-reasoned argument in support of your thesis.
This is one of the main opportunities in this class for you to develop and present your own views in detail,
it is also possible to treat it as a technical exercise. The focus is on clearly and accurately explaining a line
of reasoning from a question or problem to a conclusion. This assignment aligns primarily with SLOs II
and III.
General Requirements
In your essay, you will:
• Choose a topic, and how you want to frame it (context; focus; sources you are engaging; etc.)
o For Essay 1, topics must come from or relate to material in the Identity unit of the course.
• Present one other person’s position in relation to that topic, using at least one of the assigned
readings in this class to explain that person’s reasoning and conclusions.
• Present your position in relation to that topic, explaining and defending a thesis in relation to the
other position you present.
• Properly cite all sources using some form of in-text citation or footnotes for specific pages/parts
when you use them, as well as provide full bibliographical references for all sources used.
Essay 1 will be 3-4 pages in length (not including a separate Works Cited or Bibliography page if you use
one), typed, double-spaced, with standard font size and margins.
You will submit your paper through Blackboard by uploading a saved copy in either .pdf or Word (.docx)
format.