PHILOSOPHY OF THE HUMAN PERSON
Fall 99: INSTRUCTIONS FOR FINAL EXAM MEETINGS
PROFESSOR YOKO ARISAKA
Office: CA D8D Phone: 422-6424
email: arisaka@usfca.edu
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The final meeting will be about 20 min. per person. It will
be held during Thursday December 2--Thursday December 16. If you
are particularly interested in the Part IV (Toward the Future) of the course,
try to schedule your meeting after December 7.
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Please sign up on the sign-up sheet; don’t forget to put your phone number.
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If you have to cancel your meeting, you have to let me know and re-schedule.
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You can use the meeting to produce your final paper (5 points, 4-5 pages),
or you can bring your final paper at the time of the meeting if you write
it beforehand; the paper will be due at 5 pm, December 16. (You may
turn your paper in earlier.)
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The 15 points maximum will go toward the oral meeting.
Question:
Fill in the brackets to construct your own view of the “human person’:
In my view, the two articles/authors from the list of readings we have
done in this class which best characterize my conception of the “human
person” are [list two of the authors/articles you liked the best].
In article 1, the most significant idea is [the idea #1].
In article 2, the most significant idea is [the idea #2].
I consider these the most interesting/helpful in my own reflections about
the human personhood, because [give reasons for each—2 points each,
4 points total]. If I had to synthesize my own statement about
what I consider to be a good definition of what it means to be a human
person, I would say the following: [state your own definition--this
need not be absolutely original, but it could be a combination of the material
we’ve studied—3 points]. However, there are others who would
disagree with me. My “opponents” would be [two of the authors/articles
you least agree with, #3 and #4]. They would say that my view
is wrong, because they believe that [state the criticisms from #3 and
#4 against your view—2points each for #3 and #4; 4 points total].
But I would say that they are still wrong; my reply or defense to them
would be [articulate your defense against the criticisms—4 points].
15 points total.
Suggestions
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The meeting should be understood as a “philosophical conversation.”
So you need not be intimidated or feel defensive.
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I will play a devil’s advocate and ask you to clarify your claims
(this is how philosophers converse). I will ask you to “explain more,”
“clarify what you mean,” “turn your (or author’s) views/opinions/ideas
into an argument,” and I will try to present a counter-argument for you
to defend.
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This means that you should know thoroughly the four articles you
have chosen. Ask me to clarify any material that you are unclear
about beforehand. When you come to the meeting, I will assume that
you know the material well. I will help you with the articles beforehand;
however, I will not rehearse the meeting with you prior to the appointment.
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If everything goes really well, you will get the full 15 points.
If you cannot quite clarify, explain, articulate, or put together a specific
argument when I ask you for one, you will lose points. If you mischaracterize
the authors’ views, you will lose points. You will not loose too
many points if you cannot successfully defend a counter-argument, so long
as some attempts are made.
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You can bring any notes or material you want. However, if it
takes you too long to answer a clarification question because you have
to flip through your notes, I will probably think that you don’t have a
good grasp of the material. “Getting a good grasp of the material”
means that you have the fundamental concepts and the position down, so
that you don’t need to “remember” any detail.
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Tips for preparing: Imagine possible counter-arguments yourself.
For any position A, there are criticisms or “other ways of looking at the
issue.” Try to come up with them yourself and try to meet the challenges
yourself. This will help you clarify your own ideas, interpretations,
and arguments.
Fill in and bring this portion below to the final:
Philosophy of the Human Person
FALL 99: Arisaka
FILL IN AND BRING THIS SHEET TO THE FINAL MEETING
NAME:
SECTION: (specify 9:45am class or 11:10am class)
THE ARTICLES I HAVE SELECTED ARE:
1.
2.
3.
4.
MY MAIN POINTS (jot down key ideas you are going to talk about, in the
order you will discuss):
Back to my human person
page.