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Modern Philosophy Exam - 1st year , 1st Sem

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  • 10-12-2011 3:34pm
    #1
    ghostblake
    Closed Accounts Posts: 3 ✭


    Just joined Boards to talk with some people about this upcoming exam next Monday.
    I have a few questions towards people who know what they're talking about;


    1. Seeing as we have to 3 questions - so 2 sections and 3 philosophers, can I for example do 2 questions on say Rousseau and one on Hobbes - and leave out Descartes altogether? Any variation really but would that be okay?

    2. How long does each essay have to be with respect to time? We have 2 hours so 3 essays. 120mins / 3 = 40 mins? But how much are you expected to write in 40mins?

    3. What sort of style should the essay have? Can it be a personal essay where you can use phrases like " In my opinion Descartes..." ?



    The only reason that I'm asking this is because no one seemed to mention this in any lecture or in any tutorial.

    Thank you to whoever finds the time to answer!


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    #2
    honru
    Registered Users Posts: 4,585 ✭✭✭honru


    1. No, you must do at least one question in each section, and the sections are Hobbes/Rousseau and Descartes/Berkeley. So you could do two questions on Rousseau, but you must do one question on either Descartes or Berkeley.

    2. This depends on the person but going by how much I managed to write in my first exam I reckon between 700-800 words per answer.

    3. I don't think there is harm in doing this however one thing that was specifically mentioned was to add criticisms on the philosophy and responses on those criticisms by the respective philosopher.


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    #3
    OneOfThem Stumbled
    Registered Users Posts: 934 ✭✭✭OneOfThem Stumbled


    ghostblake wrote: »
    Just joined Boards to talk with some people about this upcoming exam next Monday.
    I have a few questions towards people who know what they're talking about;

    2. How long does each essay have to be with respect to time? We have 2 hours so 3 essays. 120mins / 3 = 40 mins? But how much are you expected to write in 40mins?

    3. What sort of style should the essay have? Can it be a personal essay where you can use phrases like " In my opinion Descartes..." ?


    The only reason that I'm asking this is because no one seemed to mention this in any lecture or in any tutorial.

    Thank you to whoever finds the time to answer!


    It's an academic essay, so attempt to keep 'In my opinion' to a minimum (i.e. it's not meant to be your opinion, it's supposed to be an argument that can be substantiated). PM me if you want me to give you an informal breakdown of Hobbes' Rousseau's and Descartes' main ideas.

    Oh Descartes... your deus ex machina was so awfully silly


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    #4
    honru
    Registered Users Posts: 4,585 ✭✭✭honru


    In viewing the past papers it seems a common thread is to provide an account of a particular work/philosophy and then provide a criticism of it yourself.


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    #5
    ghostblake
    Closed Accounts Posts: 3 ✭ghostblake


    It would be reasonable if they would provide at least some sort of sample answer with the papers. I know they don't have to do that but it would be simpler?


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    #6
    Sad Professor
    Moderators, Category Moderators, Arts Moderators, Entertainment Moderators, Technology & Internet Moderators Posts: 22,678 CMod ✭✭✭✭Sad Professor


    Is Tim Mooney still doing this? The notes he gave when I did this module were excellent. I basically just regurgitated them in the exam with a few criticisms thrown in and got an A.

    Anyway, I wouldn't be afraid to express your own views. In my experience that was encouraged in first year philosophy as it shows you understand the material, which is the main thing they want to see.


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