Updated 2025 Fall
Working Definitions of Content and Method
Working Definitions for Study CONTENT
Ethics: The study of values and principles that guide human conduct toward what is good or right.
Examples: Conservative Ethics, Liberal Ethics.
Ethical Value: A word or term that names an ideal or purpose worth pursuing because it is right or good.
Examples: Love, Trust, Fairness.
Ethical Principle: A sentence or proposition that advances the worthiness of an ethical value.
Examples: Always do the right thing. Be kind.
Option for Action: Description of a behavior, not a general principle.
Examples: Return the wallet (is an example of an option for action.)
Do the right thing (is not an example of an option for action.)
Avoid Begging the Question: The Fallacy of “Front Loading”
Ethical analysis evaluates options for action, concluding with the application of values or principles to those actions.
When evaluating an option for action, be sure not to apply a value or principle prior to evaluation.
For example, when evaluating the options for action, to return or a wallet or not to return a wallet, be sure to keep the options free of front-loading, as just stated.
Front-loading occurs when analysis begins by attaching a value or principle to an option for action, for example: “should I do the right thing and return the wallet or suit myself and keep the wallet?”
Front-loading is a variant of the informal fallacy known as “begging the question” in which the conclusion is smuggled into the premises.
Working Definitions for Study METHODS
Grouded Awareness: When you are looking at a source, especially a source “on the internet,” are you aware of the author, title, origin, or host?
Careful Comprehension: Are you staying curious about the meaning that is conveyed by the source, how it is defining its terms, and how it may be inviting you to think differently?
Careful Scholarship:
(1) When you present the source to others, are you careful to communicate what you know about the author, title, and host or source?
(2) Do you offer evidence that the source says what you say it says, by providing key quotes with citational practices that allow the reader to easily verify the source.
(3) Basic components of careful scholarship involve direct quotes, in-text citations, works cited, and permalinks.
Links: Online scholarship requires careful linking practices. MLA style works cited for “open web” sources should include a URL (not an embedded link that hides the URL) If the source is from a library database, be sure to use a “permalink” to the source.
One-Click Verification: Every work cited should include a link that gives the reader one-click access to the location where “direct quotes” may be verified.
Three Kinds of Sources
Reference or Background Sources
Sometimes it is a good idea to get a. quick overview of a topic, author, or context, and you will find links to such reference or background sources in our resource pages. Common sources for reference or background include Wikipedia, the Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy (SEP), or the Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy (IEP).
It can be a good idea to consult reference sources actively, especially if you are working on a topic, text, or author that you find puzzling.
For our classes, a reference source may be quoted and cited in the introductory paragraph only.
Primary Source Text
In Philosophy, a “primary source text” is a source that most closely documents the content of the original teaching.
In the simplest case we would say it is written by the author of the teaching. However, when the simplest case is difficult to obtain (as is common with ancient sources) we look for the text that most closely represents the original teaching.
In the example citation above, we have quoted from the text that most closely documents the teachings of Amen-em-apt. Was it actually written by Amen-em-apt? We cannot know for sure. The text is a translation, of course, from a papyrus that is regarded to faithfully represent the actual teachings of Amen-em-apt. The main point here is that we have not quoted from any text written about the teachings of Amen-em-apt.
Summary exercises will require careful scholarship in locating “a primary sources= text,” documenting key quotes, and paying close attention to their terms, concepts, and outlooks.
Secondary Literature
Your library has many interesting materials available via database searches, including sources that are termed “secondary literature”in Philosophy because they represent analysis and commentary on “primary sources.”
In introduction level classes, students will not be required to access or quote “secondary source” materials; nevertheless, students may engage with “secondary literature” as they explore deeper interests. In any case, when writing a short summary, the required quote count must still come from “primary source” materials.
MLA Documentation: Guidelines, Variations, and Examples
MLA Default Guidelines
For general help with MLA style (9th edition) please see the Purdue Online Writing Lab (Purdue OWL). The MLA organization also offers a web-based MLA Style Center.
Electronic Sources: works cited for your online class will come from electronic sources. Those electronic sources may declare that they, in turn, are based on the text of some printed book or newspaper. Which source should you cite? The one you are actually consulting: the electronic source; the one that the reader can link to.
For your convenience, we have adapted the above sources to create a shell entry for a work cited and an example appropriate for work in this course. Please take a look here.
MLA Course Rules
In this course we will deviate from strict style in three ways:
(a) a (parenthetical) in-text citation is required for each and every quote; here is where any page, paragraph, chapter, or book numbers should appear. Expect grade deductions for missing citations or work cited.
(b) works cited will be required, but not a works cited “page”; please place the works cited after the last paragraph (to save paper). Since many summaries will have only one or two works cited, we can often save paper by placing them at the end of the last page of writing.
(c) any person’s name placed in the first position of the work cited is reserved for author only. Please place the names of editors, translators, or webmasters in the “other contributor” position following the title of the ‘primary source text’ and please be sure to identify the role. In the first position of the work cited, we want to communicate a knowledge of who is speaking. Whose voice are we hearing? If the author is unknown, the work cited should begin with the title.
MLA Updates for AI Tools
MLA has a help page for writing a work cited for paraphrasing or quoting a text created by generative AI. There is no author, so the work cited should begin with the prompt, followed by the tool used, the date of the query, and a URL to the result. Example:
“In 200 words, describe the symbolism of the green light in The Great Gatsby” follow-up prompt to list sources. ChatGPT, 13 Feb. version, OpenAI, 9 Mar. 2023, chat.openai.com/chat.
Example o f MLA Citation / Work Cited
The example below shows how the in-text citation in parentheses documents the source of a direct quote by pointing to a location within a work cited.
Click here for templates to help compose works cited
“Direct Quote” with in-text (Parenthetical Citation):
“If you make your life with these in your heart, You will find it a success” (Amen-em-apt Ch. 1, 9-10).
Work Cited
Amen-em-apt. “The Instruction of Amen-em-apt.” Trans. Wim van den Dungen, et al. Sofiatopia. http://www.maat.sofiatopia.org/amen_em_apt.htm
Notes on the Work Cited
(1) The URL is “exposed” not “hidden” or “embedded.”
(2) The URL leads directly to the page where the direct quote may be located.
(3)The word (or few words) in the parenthetical citation–what Purdue OWL calls a “signal word or signal phrase”–will be derived from the first word or phrase of the work cited, usually the author’s last name.
URL Scholarship
How to Read a URL
Since we are working primarily with online sources, here is a quick guide to reading URL’s (a.k.a. Web Addresses)
“Tip: You should get into the habit of reading the URL of every web page before you even glance at the web page.” – Russ Haynal, Internet Expert
For an overview of URL anatomy, check out an explanation for Mozilla developers here.
The domain name is often a good clue as to the web site name or web publisher.
Subdomains
One thing the link above does not address is “subdomain,” when other words appear in the place of www, indicating that the domain directory has been split into “subdomains.”
When looking for container, collection, website name, or publisher, inspect the URL and see what the domain, subdomain, and paths tell you about the structure of presentation. Use your cursor to delete path branches, and refresh your browser to reveal the container structure.
For example, here is a link to a pdf file:
http://afe.easia.columbia.edu/ps/cup/xunzi_human_nature.pdf
See what happens if you delete the path slashes and inspect the subdomain only:
http://afe.easia.columbia.edu/
There, you have revealed the subdomain where the collection is archived.
Stay Active
Be an active scholar of URL domains, subdomains, and paths. Read the URL, look for domains, subdomains, and paths that can help you write a careful work cited.
Grading Guidelines
Elements of Grading Requirements
When students are asked to compose work, guidelines will include elements such as:
(1) Minimum word counts: word processors such as MS Word can easily report how many words are in a paragraph.
(2) Minimum quotation counts: a direct quotation will usually be one complete sentence, always punctuated by quotation marks, and generally taken from “a primary source text” (not from summaries or commentaries about the primary source text — never from Wikipedia!).
(3) Careful Scholarship that includes: Mandatory in-text citations for each and every direct quote: after the closing quote mark, and before the period, place a citation in parentheses, using the first word of the work cited and any text location information (as available) such as page, chapter, paragraph number, section, book, etc. Since we are working with online resources, page numbers are usually not relevant, so look for location indicators such as paragraph number, chapter, or book. Where there are no location indicators you do not need to supply them.
(4) Mandatory works cited:usually placed after the last paragraph. Remember: sometimes the web page that you are working with names a print source, but if you are reading (and quoting from) the web page, the print source is not your source. Your work cited is the web page.
(5) Five-paragraph template: use the template guidelines to organize your work into well-formed paragraphs.
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