Comparative Philosophy Presentation

Assignment Instructions

Create an PPT, or some other presentation, thataccomplishes the following:

1. Choose one of the following two topics:

• Drawing on what you know of pre-Socratic and classical philosophy (i.e. the philosophy of Socrates and Plato) as well as what you know of modern philosophy (i.e. the philosophy of Descartes and Locke), compare and contrast the concerns of modern and ancient philosophy. Do the ancients care about the same problems as the moderns? If not, what are the major differences between them? Can those differences be reconciled? Why or why not? If not, then which approach to philosophical questioning is the most valuable? Why?

• Consider the debate between Rationalism and Empiricism. What are the major differences between these two traditions in their approach to the theory of knowledge and metaphysics? What are the differences in their methods and attitudes to doing philosophy? Which tradition is more convincing/more useful as an approach to seeking answers to philosophical questions and to seeking meaning in life? Why?

2. Present research on each tradition that clearly discuss both sides of the relevant debate. Try to favor reputable sources from the APUS library or philosophy program guide (i.e. no Wikipedia, Course Hero, Spark Notes, etc.).

3. Include a proper references/works cited slide 

Keep in mind these best practices, please: 

• Proper PPTs have bullets on the slide that are explained in the notes section or that include audio recordings embedded in the slides in which you narrate the presentation (see video on how to do this if you do not know how). You must provide narration for the presentation in some way—i.e. either as notes or as audio recordings.

• If you intend to narrate the presentation with audio recordings, be sure to include the transcript in the notes section (see PPT on how to insert audio if you do not know and want to give that a shot). 

• If, for any reason you are unable to access the notes section, put the transcript/notes in a MS Word document in a numbered list with the numbers matching the slide.

• Keep the viewer in mind (teacher). While you might work hard on a 20-minute presentation, few faculty members have the time to watch or listen to it.

• Just like papers, clear citations must appear on the slide, i.e. where an audience viewing your presentation would naturally be able to see the citation, to justify listing a resource as a reference.