Topic outline

  • Assignments

    Instructions for Writing the Essays

    The general format of the essays is free. Please adhere to good academic practice. The scope of the essays should be as follows:

    • Short essay (1–2 pages 11px font such as Times New Roman, spacing 1, or 300–600 words)
    • Long essay (3–5 pages 11px font such as Times New Roman, spacing 1, or 900–1500 words)


    The essays should not include your name, email and student number as they will be anonymously peer reviewed.

    Submit the essays through the links below by the given deadlines.

    Deadlines and topics for the essays are:

    • Short essay: an evaluation of a essay  chosen from the mandatory or optional readings in the course. Deadline 11.11.2022 at 16:00.
    • Long essay: an original development of a philosophical idea relevant to you as the writer. Deadline 2.12.2022 at 16:00.


    For the short essay, please choose a paper  from the course readings. Try to find a paper that is personally meaningful to you. Write a personal essay about what you find interesting in the paper and what learnings you can take from it in your life. In this essay you will review a work of original thought.

    For the long essay, please choose a philosophical idea (for example “what the mind is”, “why we exist”, “what is the good life”) that you find personally relevant and discuss it in more depth, using the tools and concepts learned on the course, but expanding beyond them. The tone of this essay should be more similar to actual philosophical writing. In this essay you will be practicing original philosophical thought.

    Especially for the long essay, please keep in mind the principles of writing original philosophical essays:

    • Do not hide behind bearded busts; refer to authorities only when it is critical to your argument.
    • Use technical terminology sparingly and only when a non-technical expression does not serve the purpose of expressing the nuances of what you have to say. 
    • Focus on clarity of argumentation and the relevance of each part of the argument for your conclusions.
    • Write about a topic you truly care about.

    The essays will be peer reviewed. After submitting your essay, you will receive two essays from your fellow students to review and evaluate. You will be asked to give feedback for the essays, focusing on what your peer has done well as well as offering suggestions for improvement. You will need to submit your review of the two essays in one week after the submission deadline.

    Instructions for the Learning Diary

    Write 1–2 paragraphs of each lecture, highlighting key learnings and reflecting on both the lecture content and the discussion. The entire learning diary should not be longer than 4 pages. Submit the Learning Diary through the link below.

    Deadline for the Learning Diary is 9.12.2022 by 16:00.

    • Assignment icon
      Learning Diary Assignment
    • Assignment icon
      Absence Compensation Essays Dropbox Assignment

      You could submit your compensation essays/reflections here.

      The deadline is the absolute deadline. 

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