Instructions
Pragmatism and Transcendentalism Essay
Pragmatism and Transcendentalism are America’s first two distinctive cultural contributions to philosophy. While at first these two approaches to philosophy appear quite different from one another, pragmatists often found a kind of kinship with Transcendentalism. Write a 2-to-3-page essay drawing on at least one philosopher from the Transcendentalism section of the course (Emerson, Thoreau, or Fuller) and one from the Pragmatism section (Peirce, James, or Dewey) and compare them on one dimension of their thought. Do Thoreau and Dewey have a similar view of nature? How does Emerson’s idea of self-reliance square with Peirce’s notion of making our ideas clear? Is Fuller’s feminism pragmatic in James’ sense of the term?
**Requirements**:
1. Your paper must be exactly three pages long. Please ensure not to exceed this limit.
2. The format should be in Microsoft Word (.doc or .docx) to facilitate the review process. This will also allow for comments and feedback.
3. Incorporate at least one secondary source from the class reading list to strengthen your analysis.
**Style Guide**:
4. Follow our provided style guide diligently:
– Double space the body of the text; do not insert extra spaces after each paragraph.
– Maintain 1″ margins on the left, top, bottom, and right.
– Utilize a plain font, preferably Times New Roman, with a font size of 12.
– Avoid adding a title; do not include graphics or photos, and use bold and italics sparingly.
– Create a header that reads “Your Name: Pragmatism and Transcendentalism Essay.”
– Include page numbers in the middle of the footer.
– For citations, use the author’s name and a page number in parentheses (e.g., (Wolin, 64)).
– Employ block quotations (sparingly) for quotes exceeding three lines; indent and single-space these quotes.
**Essay Writing**:
5. Begin your essay with a succinct thesis statement. Your essay must present a compelling case and construct a persuasive argument in response to the provided topic. Weave together experiences, facts, citations from texts, logical reasoning, and appeals to the readers’ sensibilities to achieve a cohesive and convincing result. The best essays typically come from students who have outlined their essay before commencing the writing process.
6. Your essays should be flawless in terms of grammar, punctuation, spelling, typing, and adherence to the style specifications. Each detail matters.
7. Avoid paraphrasing without proper attribution, direct copying from other scholars, using other students’ work, or copying from the internet.
8. In philosophical/scholarly writing, refrain from using personal pronouns (e.g., I, you, we) and avoid contractions (e.g., don’t, aren’t).
9. Do not use non-germane materials in your scholarly essay for the sake of “color.” Elements like poetry, dictionary definitions, or quotations from famous figures have their place, but should not be used to fill space.
10. Write in a clear, concise manner. Effective academic prose is minimalist. Avoid unnecessary adjectives and adverbs, vary sentence structures, and ensure that paragraphs develop a single point.
11. Avoid unnecessary padding. Write the necessary amount for your argument and style, and then conclude. Remember, professors do not award grades based on the number of pages or the use of obscure words.
**Additional Tips**:
12. Craft a thesis statement that explicitly outlines the dimension of thought you will compare and the specific philosophers you will analyze. Clarity is key.
13. Go beyond the surface. Delve deep into the primary texts of the chosen philosophers to extract nuanced insights and perspectives related to the selected dimension.
14. Offer your own unique interpretations and insights. Originality sets exceptional papers apart.
15. Address potential counterarguments to your thesis in your paper, showcasing your ability to acknowledge and refute opposing viewpoints.
16. Ensure logical flow and coherence throughout your essay. Each paragraph should smoothly transition to the next, creating a connected and cohesive argument.
17. Provide historical, cultural, and philosophical context for the chosen philosophers and movements, enhancing the depth of your analysis.
18. Integrate the secondary source from the class reading list effectively into your analysis, demonstrating its contribution to your argument.
19. Maintain clarity and consistency in your citations using the specified citation style.
20. Use the conclusion to recap the main points of your argument and reiterate the significance of your findings in the context of the prompt.
21. Seek feedback from peers, writing tutors, or office hours to improve your paper’s style, content, and structure.
Here are your reading options to pick from and utilize in your paper
-Ralph waldo Emerson “ The American Scholar (1837)
-Emerson, The transcendentalist (1842)
– Emerson Self-Reliance (1841)
– Emerson Experience (1844)
– Emerson Addresses on the Emancipation of the Negros in the British West Indies (1844)
– Henry David Thoreau Economy from Walden (1854)
-Thoreau, “Where I Lived and What I lived for, ” The Village and “Baker Farm” from Walden (1854)
– Margaret Fuller, Woman in the Nineteenth Century pages 5 through 35 (I could swallow the catalog…) (1843)
-De Cleyre, “Sex Slavery”
– Charles Sanders Peirce the fixation of belief (1877)
-Peirce, “How to Mke Our Ideas Clear (1878)
– William James, Pragmatism lectures I and II (1907)
– James Pragmatism Lectures VI and VIII
-James, “The Moral Equivalent of war (1910)
– John Dewey, Chapter 1: “Escape from Peril” from the Quest for certainty (1929)
-Dewey Chapter 8, “ The Naturalization of Intelligence from the Quest for Certainty”
-Dewey Chapter 9: The Supremacy of Method” from the Quest for Certainty”
-Dewey Individualism Old and New, Chapters 1-3 (1930)
-Dewey, Individualism Old and New, Chapters 4-6
-Dewey, Individualism Old and New, Chapters 7 and 8
