How do I write a philosophical essay?

How do I write a philosophical essay?
Picked a philosophy module by accident and now I'm stuck in this mess
I only have experience writing historic and political essays, how much does philosophy differ? How are arguments presented and different thinkers weighed up against each other?
I suppose my main question is, how do I talk about abstract ideas and concepts, rather than practical things and events?

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You learn by reading them.
Read some philosophy journals.

i don't have time for that unfortunately
is there no general stylistic rule or some big no nos or something

What should I read about Diogenes? I heard that none of his actual writings survived

mediafire.com/?zp2ppnxjwj28c

Everything you need, doggo.

Cheers user.

> previously written history and l politics essays.

I studied philosophy and politics (joint honors). I didn't write them in differing styles

Bump, i still don't know

Like any other essay. Citation style should probably be MLA as philosophy is traditionally considered to be in the humanities, but defer to your professor on this matter.

Any differences in conceptual presentation and comparison engendered by your divergent experience in history and politics is an asset, not a liability.

Just write a good essay, damn it. Don't they teach children to do this anymore?

One argument stated as correct in the (short) introductory paragraph.

Present counter-arguments in a structured way and debunk them with good style and rigour. Make sure to add original ideas and arguments of your own if you want to gain high marks.

You will be marked on:

1. How sound your arguments are.
2. How far you understand the Philosophers/works that you are referencing.
3. The quality and economy of your essay structure.
4. Finally you can gain marks with good style as it can help to better engage the marker and make arguments more clear and concise.

>mfw there are people who don't structure all their essays like this

How I get all A's writing the night before the due date. It's a simple formula really.

OP here
I have the introductory paragraph as you said with the statement of the argument.
However the main body of my text has supporting arguments rather than counter arguments
Counter arguments are a more minor part which I acknowledge here and there
i-is this wrong

i mean my main argument is that war is just
(you may have seen this thread :3 )
then i back this up with those theorists and theologians who developed the just war theories (augustine, aquinas, cicero, etc)
counter arguments i provide in the form of practical examples where just war theory does not hold up in reality (most of ww2 etc)

did i fuck this up?

There is a skeleton of what makes a decent essay, but we're not going to sit here and coach you through the writing of a great essay that captures your own potential.

You haven't fucked it up, but you might not be a great essayist or philosophical thinker either. No big deal, do the best you can.

Come to Veeky Forums for inspiration, but rarely rely on it for method.

Out of curiosity, what is your essay length limit? The possible depth you can achieve in your essay is a function of this and your ability.

2700 words minimum, 3300 maximum
my main body is three paragraphs of roughly 700 words each, discussing the development of the theory from antiquity, to post ww2, to post 9/11

You can write in a multitude of ways.
>arguments
I am sick of this nonsense being imposed on fragile minds. STEMspergery has spread too far.

Your hyper-Humanities bent is an extreme reaction to the prevailing hyper-STEM climate.

OP was begging for a specific method, which is useful when starting from nothing and not very bright.

>humanities
I'm not a humanist, you turd.

Well what specifically are you writing about? Are you writing about a specific philosopher or class of philosophy?

Learn what words mean before using them:
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Humanities
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Humanism

I do know what they mean, beyond a surface level meaning (i.e., your level of comprehension).

Why do idiots always attack when they are challenged? Your categories do not apply to me, STEMsperg.

You haven't used them in a way that has demonstrated even a surface level of comprehension.

What shortcoming pains you that you consider simple explanation an attack? Does your hypocrisy not bother you at all?

Go read into the actual meaning and origins of the category 'humanities'.
It's a humanist term.

You don't need to subscribe to Humanism in order to interact with the concept of Humanities any more than you need to subscribe to Naturalism to interact with the concept of natural forces.

The Humanities are a well-known grouping, and trying to disengage with the discussion on the basis of disagreeing with the line of reasoning that engendered that grouping is pretty childish.

No, but one must subscribe to humanism to study this vague category of 'humanities' you people have made up.
>The Humanities are a well-known grouping, and trying to disengage with the discussion on the basis of disagreeing with the line of reasoning that engendered that grouping is pretty childish.
omg if you arentt an ideologue, you are a children!

No one has asked you to study the Humanities, only to interact with the concept without thrashing so violently in an irrational reaction to "ideology" that you are no longer to engage the point.

Except you said I do, because I do, but get upset when I deny the label. How is this any different than banning the confederate flag?

Ideas do matter.

I have never said that you do need to study the Humanities. Point out where you think I have done this, if you disagree.

I did not say that you said I need to, rather I said that you said that I do.

I didn't do that either.

>Your hyper-Humanities bent

Are you implying that you have to study the Humanities to have such a bent? That's like claiming that you have to study urology in order to have a UTI.