FINAL COMMENTARY
PHIL 3303 – Modern Philosophy
Commentary 3. Instructions.
- This paper should be a commentary on the text provided, an excerpt from David Hume, An Enquiry
Concerning Human Understanding. The commentary should serve the following purpose: Imagine that
someone who has no idea about Hume or his philosophy reads the text. Your commentary should help
the reader to understand the text: its argument and main ideas, how ideas are linked, what is the point
or purpose of the passage, what underlying arguments and context is the text addressing, why it
matters.
- To prepare your commentary, first create a set of structures (do as we did in class with Montaigne’s
fragment):
1) Create a formal structure: Divide the text in parts and subparts. This should help you in
creating an outline showing the structure and hierarchy of arguments and ideas.
2) Find the main explicit ideas in the text and place them within the formal structure.
3) Find where more information is required to understand the explicit ideas. In other words,
indicate where and which implicit ideas are needed. Implicit ideas are the ideas that are not in
the text, but necessary to understand what the text is about (context, philosophical arguments,
elated ideas, authors that are indirectly addressed, etc.) The more you know, the more implicit
ideas you will find.
4) Once the structures are made provide a thesis: In one sentence, formulate what the text is
about. This thesis should be based on the structures, thus based on textual evidence.
These structures should serve you as an outline for your commentary.
- To write your commentary:
1) Begin by stating what the text is about (section 4) above) and propose a division (section 1)
above). Note that you are commenting on a fragment, not an entire work and that it is you who
divides the text (do not say “Hume divided the text in x parts;” rather, say something like: “The
fragment can be divided in the following parts” or “I propose to divide the fragment in…” etc.).
2) Based on this division, explain (i.e., comment on) the text. Show how the argument unfolds
and how ideas relate to each other. Explain the explicit ideas and how they relate to implicit
ideas.
3) End with a
ief conclusion recapitulating the most important aspects of the text, which
should be in accordance to your thesis.
Note:
- The commentary is NOT a summary nor a paraphrase of the text.
- It is NOT a succession of quotes (do not quote, unless it is absolutely necessary, just refer to the text
through the line number, i.e., l. 1-2. NOT “in the lines one to two”).
- It is NOT your personal opinion about the text.
- It is NOT a summary of the life and works of the author (unless this information is necessary to
understand the text, you shouldn’t include it).
- It is NOT a collection of generalities and platitudes (DON’T say: “Hume is the most important
philosopher to have ever written in English,” or “He is one of the three British empiricists”).
- This paper requires time. Do not try to do everything at the last minute; try to do a little bit every day.
General issues:
- Be clear and concise. Use your words wisely.
- Make sure you understand the philosophical concepts and that what you write down is actually
what you intend to say.
- Try to use ve
s like “proposes, claims, defends, argues, concludes” and NOT “says, goes on,
states, points out, decides”.
- Use logic connectors (therefore, since, because, however, furthermore, if…then) and not
temporal (first, then, next, after that…).
- Avoid rhetorical questions, generalizations and platitudes, unjustified personal opinions.
- Cite only when it is absolutely necessary to understand your argument, avoid long citations (your paper
should not be a sequence of quotations).
Before submitting:
- Proofread your text. Read it aloud to see whether it makes sense and to check whether you
followed the instructions.
- Add a word count.
- Submit your work in word or pdf (not pages or other file formats).
Submission:
- Your paper should be around XXXXXXXXXXwords; double-spaced and 11 or 12 font. Submit BOTH your
outline AND your paper through Blackboard (submit together in the same attempt). You can submit a
picture for your structures, you don’t need to type it.
RUBRIC
The general criterion is having followed the instructions.
In general:
- Content misunderstandings.
- Not being clear and concise (repeating the same ideas, adding unnecessary words to reach the word
limit)
- Doing the contrary of what the instructions said: employing rhetorical questions, generalizations and
platitudes (“a famous and much quoted phrase”), unjustified personal opinions (“transitions nicely,”
“like many I am sure”).
- Use temporal connectors that only show a succession rather than logical connectors.
- Language and expression issues.