A Guided Introduction to Metaphysics and Epistemology
This tool is designed to help you create a structured argument for an introductory philosophy essay—from choosing a thesis statement, to identifying and defending premises, to considering counter-arguments.
Simply work through the prompts on each page, and click “Next” to move on. Use the “Previous” button or the headings at top if you wish to revise any of your earlier responses. As you work through the prompts, your responses will be used to generate an essay outline. This outline can then be printed or emailed to your instructor or peers.
To see an example of an essay outline created using this tool, click here.
This tool is adapted with permission from Ardis Anderson’s “How to Build a Birdhouse.”
Choosing a Topic
You may have already been assigned an essay topic or given a selection of topics from which to choose. If so, simply write out your selected topic at the bottom of this page.
If your instructor has left this up to you, then you will first have choose an essay topic. Your main goal in choosing a topic is to find one that is narrow enough for the length of paper you have been assigned to write.
It can be tempting to pick a topic that is too broad. Sometimes students want to solve a big problem or address a big issue because they’re afraid they won’t have enough to say to fill the required length of the assignment. Too big of a topic, however, solves one problem by creating an even bigger one. A philosophy paper is typically a rather terse, dense, to-the-point argument, and it’s much easier to create such a paper if your topic is specific and relatively narrow in scope.
Consider an example. Suppose you’re interested in writing an essay in the Philosophy of Religion. It’s an interesting topic, but far too broad for a short essay. So you might consider a narrower topic:
“God’s Existence”
Still too broad. There are a great many different arguments about God’s existence, and philosophers have written entire books on this subject. Try to narrow the topic even more:
Anselm’s ontological argument for the existence of God.
Much better. You could narrow it down even further if you like, to a specific question such as, “Are existing things greater than non-existing things?” The narrowness of your topic will depend in part on the instructions you receive from your instructor.
One more example: suppose you are tasked with writing an essay on an ethical issue. You might begin with:
Non-Human Animals
But this is quite broad, and probably too much to cover in a single essay. So, instead, you might use this topic:
The morality of eating non-human animals.
Depending on your assignment, that might be narrow enough. Or you might consider narrowing the topic even further, to something like:
Utilitarian arguments against factory farming.
Once you’re happy with the scope of your topic (i.e., how narrow or broad it is) you also need to ensure that it’s arguable. For it to be arguable, there needs to be a legitimate question at issue.
For example, if your topic is “Anselm’s ontological argument for the existence of God,” you might rephrase this as:
Does Anselm’s ontological argument succeed in proving the existence of God?
If your topic is “The morality of consuming non-human animals,” you might rephrase this into:
Is it morally permissible for humans to eat non-human animals?
Some essay assignments require only that you put forth your own argument. If this is the type of essay you are writing, you may skip ahead by clicking the “Thesis” tab above.
However, many essays require that you explain and assess the views of someone else, such as one of the authors you have read in your textbook. If this is part of your assignment, then you will need to first describe the position(s) of the author(s) you are discussing. This is called “explication.”
Explication is the process of making something explicit or clear. Doing so requires the reading, and re-reading, of the texts you are discussing.
While you’re reading, try to first pick out the conclusion of the argument. What is the author trying to show? Next try to pick out the premises. What are the reasons the author gives for his or her conclusion?
Remember: you only need to explicate the arguments that are relevant to your question. Suppose your topic is “The morality of eating non-human animals.” You may be writing in response to an article from Peter Singer that discusses many different ways in which humans interact with animals: sport hunting, cosmetics testing, scientific trials, circus performance, etc. Since your essay is focused only on the issue of eating, you need not describe all of those other forms of animal treatment. Rather, you should focus your explication on only what is relevant to the topic at issue.
When you are explicating an author’s argument, make sure you interpret the author in the best possible light. The authors we read in philosophy are all intelligent, and we can assume that their arguments are worth consideration (though we shouldn’t assume that they are all right). If you think the argument is obviously bad, it is very likely that you misunderstand it. Only once you actually understand it can you begin to critique it.
In your essay, you may have one paragraph or several paragraphs in which to provide your explication, depending on your assignment. For the purposes of this essay outline, try to provide a shortened version of your explication, using no more than a few sentences or bullet points. For example:
Peter Singer argues that it is immoral in most circumstances for people to eat non-human animals. He bases this conclusion in the following premises: (1) We ought to treat equal interests equally; (2) Non-human animals have interests; (3) To kill and eat a non-human animal for the sake of human enjoyment is to treat a lesser interest of humans as more important than a greater interest of the animal that is eaten.
Now that you’ve chosen a topic, you are ready to pick a thesis. Your thesis is the conclusion of your essay, and it is your answer to the question that your essay is addressing.
For example, if your essay question is “Does Anselm’s ontological argument succeed in proving the existence of God?”, your thesis might be:
Anselm’s ontological argument fails to prove the existence of God.
Remember that your thesis should be clear and direct, and it should advance a position that at least some reasonable people would disagree with. So, for example, “Anselm’s ontological argument is very influential in the history of philosophy” is not a good thesis statement. It doesn’t directly engage with the topic at issue: the topic is God’s existence, not Anselm’s historical influence. And it doesn’t defend a position that a reasonable person would disagree with, since it is obviously true that Anselm’s argument is historically influential.
Though your thesis should advance a philosophical position, it need not defend an extreme stance or a position that admits of no exceptions. Philosophical issues are complicated, and sometimes a more nuanced position is appropriate. For example, suppose your essay question is “Is it morally permissible for humans to eat non-human animals?” You might choose a thesis such as:
It is never morally permissible for humans to eat non-human animals.
Or
It is always morally permissible for non-humans to eat non-human animals.
Or, your thesis might be:
It is morally permissible for humans to eat non-human animals when doing so is necessary for humans’ survival, but in all other circumstances it is impermissible.
All three of those theses clearly address the philosophical topic at issue, and each adopts a position that is clear and that other reasonable people would disagree with.
It is best to choose a thesis that you actually believe, rather than one that is deliberately provocative or that you think aligns with the views of your instructor. The quality of your essay will depend on the strength of the arguments you offer in support of your thesis, so you should choose a thesis that is supported by the strongest arguments you can think of.
State your thesis in the field below. Write it as one complete sentence. Be sure to choose a thesis that responds directly to the topic question of your essay (if you’ve forgotten what that question is, see the Essay Outline to the right).
Having established your thesis, it’s time to begin the most interesting part of your essay: giving arguments in support of your thesis. Depending on the complexity and depth of your essay, you may be offering only a single argument, or you may be offering multiple arguments. Remember that it is not always necessary to provide multiple arguments: some of the strongest and most influential works of philosophy include only one carefully articulated and well-supported primary argument. Be sure to review the instructions for your assignment to see if your instructor has specifically asked that you include a certain number of arguments in support of your thesis.
We will now briefly examine some of the key aspects of argumentation, and then you will be prompted to outline the argument(s) of your essay, including the premises and any supporting evidence.
Most arguments require multiple premises, which work together to support the conclusion of the argument (which, in this case is your thesis statement). Suppose, for example, that your thesis is: “Consciousness is only an illusion and does not actually exist.” You might offer the following argument:
Premise: Everything that exists can be observed by the senses.
Premise: Consciousness cannot be observed by the senses.
Therefore, consciousness does not exist.
This argument involves two premises (“Everything that exists…” and “Consciousness cannot be…”). Note that neither of those premises is adequate on its own; they work together to support the thesis. It is best to state all of the premises explicitly, so that the reader can see exactly how those premises work to support your conclusion.
Another example: suppose you are defending the thesis that “Free market capitalism is beneficial to society.” You might offer the following argument:
Premise: Free market capitalism leads to lower levels of poverty than competing economic systems.
Therefore, free market capitalism is beneficial.
The claim about poverty supports the conclusion, and so the premise works to support the essay’s thesis. If you’ve studied logic, you may have noticed that there’s also an implicit premise at work in this argument: “Lowered levels of poverty are beneficial to society”. If you wish (or if your instructor requires it), you could list this as one of the premises of the argument, though you wouldn’t likely include this premise in your written essay because it is obvious and presumably agreeable to all reasonable people.
Premise: Lowered levels of poverty are beneficial to society.
Support for your Arguments
Some premises require very little support because they are obviously true. For example, a claim such as “Killing and consuming non-human animals is harmful to those animals” is, in most circumstances, sufficiently obvious that it can be stated without defense. Similarly, “Human beings are capable of thinking” is obvious and requires no further support.
However, many of the premises used in philosophical arguments are not obvious. If the premises of your argument are not obvious, you need to support them with evidence or further “sub-arguments.” Let’s look at some examples:
Premise: Free market capitalism leads to lower levels of poverty than competing economic systems. Premise: Lowered levels of poverty are beneficial to society. Therefore, free market capitalism is beneficial.
As noted above, the second premise is obviously true and agreeable to (nearly) everyone; it needs no support here. However, the premise that free market capitalism leads to lower levels of poverty is not obvious and requires defense. In this case, the premise is a claim about the world around us, and it should be defended with data. For example, you might support it with this information:
Data from the World Bank shows that poverty is higher in nations with socialized economies than in nations with free market systems.
If you provide this kind of support for your argument, you should be sure to properly cite a credible source. For the purposes of this outline a full citation is not needed, but be sure to make note of any supporting sources and include complete citation information in your actual essay. Generally, an academic publication or reputable news organization is more credible than a private website.
Note that supporting data isn’t always conclusive; for a complex topic such as the comparative benefits of different economic systems, there is very often evidence to the contrary (indeed, many people have argued persuasively that the free market increases poverty). Nonetheless, at least some support should be provided for a contentious premise such as this one.
Another example:
Premise: Everything that exists can be observed by the senses. Premise: Consciousness cannot be observed by the senses. Therefore, consciousness does not exist.
This argument has two premises, neither of which is obvious or uncontentious. Unlike the previous example, the premises of this argument are not the kinds of claims that can be defended by citing a statistic. Rather, these premises are themselves philosophical claims about which entire essays could be written. For the purposes of this outline, however, it’s enough to give one brief reason in support of each of them. In this case, you might say something like this:
It is irrational to believe that something exists if we can’t find observable evidence for it – for example, it is irrational to believe that ghosts exist if they are never seen, heard, or otherwise observed by the senses. We can observe the statements and actions of other people, but we can never observe their supposedly conscious experiences.
Again, as with the earlier example, these supporting arguments are contentious and subject to counter-arguments. You may need to offer further support for these arguments in the body of your essay. But for now, a sentence or two arguing for each premise is enough to show that you have reasons in support of those premises and that they are not merely unsupported assumptions.
Input each of your arguments in the fields below. Remember that each argument should support your thesis.
For any argument in which the premises are not all obviously true, offer supporting evidence or reasons.
Example #1:
Argument: Premise: Free market capitalism leads to lower levels of poverty than competing economic systems. Therefore, free market capitalism is beneficial. Support: Data from the World Bank shows that poverty is higher in nations with socialized economies than in nations with free market systems.
Example #2:
Argument: Premise: Everything that exists can be observed by the senses. Premise: Consciousness cannot be observed by the senses. Therefore, consciousness does not exist.
Support: It is irrational to believe that something exists if we can’t find observable evidence for it – for example, it is irrational to believe that ghosts exist if they are never seen, heard, or otherwise observed by the senses. We can observe the statements and actions of other people, but we can never observe their supposedly conscious experiences.
Since you’ve picked an arguable thesis – that is, a thesis that is not obvious and to which a reasonable person could disagree – it is likely to face counter-arguments.
Counter-arguments are objections to your position that are themselves arguments. Merely stating a position that is contrary to your thesis is not offering a counter-argument. A counter-argument must give a plausible reason why one might believe that your thesis is false or that your arguments fail. Typically, a counter-argument does one of three things:
1. Attempts to show that one of the premises in your argument is false.
Example Counter-Argument: Argument #1 employs the premise that consciousness cannot be observed by the senses. Someone might object that this is false, on the grounds that we are each individually capable of observing our own conscious experiences.
2. Attempts to show that the premises of one of your arguments fails to adequately support your thesis.
Example Counter-Argument: Argument #2 claims that free-market capitalism benefits society because it leads to reduced levels of poverty. One might counter this argument by claiming that reduced levels of poverty are only a limited measure of economic health since people may live above the poverty line but still be disadvantaged and relatively poor.
3. Attempts to show that your thesis is incorrect on some other grounds by providing an independent argument toward a conclusion that is contrary to your thesis.
Example Counter-Argument: Some might object to the claim that free-market capitalism is beneficial to society on the grounds that capitalism privileges some people over others on the basis of morally irrelevant features of their social circumstance, such as wealth and race.
When trying to construct a counter-argument, consider these questions:
Does one of your arguments include a premise that some reasonable people would disagree with?
Do your arguments give adequate support for your thesis, or could your thesis be false even if the premises of your arguments are true?
Are there counter-examples that may seem to falsify your thesis or premises?
What have other philosophers said about the issue you are addressing? If their conclusions are different from yours, why is this? Is it because they start from different premises? Is it because they reach a different conclusion from the same premises?
Once you have identified a counter-argument, you must also respond to it. Remember: the thesis you are defending should be one that you believe is true on the basis of the arguments you provide in your essay. If a counter-argument claims to demonstrate that one of your arguments fails, you should be able to explain why this is not so. And if a counter-argument claims to show that your thesis is false, you should be able to explain why the counter-argument fails to show this.
Enter your counter-arguments and responses below.
Remember that the counter-arguments should do one of three things:
1. Attempt to show that one of the premises in one of your arguments is false.
2. Attempt to show that the premises of one of your arguments fails to adequately support your thesis.
3. Attempt to show that your thesis is incorrect on some other grounds by providing an independent argument toward a conclusion that is contrary to your thesis.
Your objective is to identify the stronger objections you can think of, and then to show that those objections are not successful. Remember: A response must be given for each counter-argument proposed.
Congratulations! You’ve completed your essay outline. Click “next” to email a copy to your instructor or to your own email address.
If you wish to revise any of your earlier responses, use the “Previous” button or the headings at top to return to earlier sections. Note that this essay outline is meant to represent the planned content of your essay, but not necessarily its ordering. As you write your essay, you may wish to revise its content and also the order in which the arguments and counter-arguments are presented.
Print the template using the button on the right. You can also use this form to send an email copy of it to someone.
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