Due
Thursday, February 9th
The essay should be three to five, double-spaced,
typewritten pages with a 12 pt font (Times Roman or smaller) and 1-inch margins
at the top, bottom and sides. Do not use a title page. Place the title of the
paper at the top of the first page of the text. Without a bulletproof excuse,
these papers must be turned in on time. Late papers will otherwise suffer a
one-grade reduction. Appropriate use of quotes (but not excessive) is expected,
as well as appropriate reference to the ideas of Aristotle and Euclid. Please
follow the style sheet in the anthology for structure, footnote and grammatical
style. You may also go to the Issues in Political Economy website http://www.elon.edu/ipe/style.htm
for further guidance.
Write an essay in which you inform your
reader what it was that Euclid and Aristotle sought to explain, and how the
works of Aristotle and Euclid are similar and how they differ. Also, explain
what makes these works so important in the history of science in the West – and
suggest why both remained at the core of Western learning for hundreds of
years. You can think of this essay as a review of Aristotle and Euclid that
will provide the lay reader with a broad sense of the importance of these two
thinkers, as well as a good idea of the particular detail of their work. So,
your essay must provide a good balance between general statements and
detailed examples that illustrate those statements. I expect some
intellectual rigor and effort. Avoid platitudes.
I
want specific contributions of these scholars rather than a paper laced with
generalities. Finally, do not use other sources. Use only the words of
Aristotle and Euclid in the Anthology. And not a breath of plagiarized
language. Failure for the course awaits those who stray.
A
final note: Focus on the forms of reasoning used (In some sense, Euclid makes
use of Aristotle’s approach to achieving greater knowledge about the world);
What might later scholars have learned about how to arrive at certain truths
using this approach? Which of the two is more precise and which less tidy in
their studies? How do the two treat mathematics – an abstract form of reasoning
or the language of nature? What has Euclid removed from Aristotle’s methods and
what has he kept? In other words, how has Euclid moved scientific (if we can
call it that) practice to a different field of inquiry?
If you need any guidance on how to start, what sorts of questions to address or are in doubt about the meaning of the text (or a particular interpretation), I will answer any and all questions. You can contact me by E-mail, phone (8256) or come to my office (Dunton 227, 10-noon, most Mondays or by appointment).