Citations etc.

Since we are into the writing of papers and such, I thought I’d remind everyone of the importance of proper practice when it comes to citing sources. There are many styles you can choose from, but remember to use one consistent style throughout your work.

• MLA
• Chicago/Turabian
• plus many others you can look up yourself

For various types of online sources, see how to cite them at this site.

Also, remember proper practice for quoting and when to use block quotes.

Conversations on Philosophy

Philosopher John Searle talks about how one does Philosophy with Harry Kreisler on Conversations with History at UCTV.

The talk is almost an hour long. The discussion of philosophy takes up the first half hour, right up to 31:30.

UCTV also has a Philosophy section.

John Searle is most well-known for his work on Philosophy of Mind.

Searle also gave a talk at Google on philo of mind.

Year-end Assignment

Remember that you need to clear your

• topic area
• specific question
• nature of assignment (see previous post)

with me BEFORE you begin your assignment.

Deadlines are as follows:

• Sec 3: 2 weeks after last day of EYA
• Sec 4: Tue of Term 4 Week 7

Questions? Just email me.

Next meeting and PEP assignment for the year

I am proposing our next meeting be on Tue Sep 16 or Tue Sep 23. As usual, please vote via email.

Attendance at our meeting on Tue Aug 12 was poor, but we went ahead anyway. I know the Sec 4s are at the end of the tether in terms of preparing for exams. Hang in there. It will all end soon.

Now as for the assignment, I am going to offer some suggestions. Please consider which of these you’d like to do to cap off your year in PEP. If you don’t like any of these, I’m open to your suggestions.

• a long essay on a topic of your choice (1000-1500 words) with full references etc.
• a portfolio of 3 shorter pieces (400-600 words) centered on one problem/question
• a PowerPoint slide show with accompanying script (10-15 slides) focusing on one problem/question
• a Socratic dialogue aimed at trying to define a philosophically interesting concept (1000-1500 words)

The assignment should reach me before the end of Options [i.e. T4W6]

It is now necessary because I am no longer hopeful that we can complete the planned series of topical presentations that we set out to do at the start of the year in our youthful naivete.

Next meeting?

Please check your email. Let me know which dates you prefer. Choose from:

• Tue 29 Jul
• Tue 5 Aug
• Tue 12 Aug
• or an even later date?

Please send me a 1st and 2nd choice. I will announce the confirmed
date after all your replies come in.

Update: OK, results are in. The next meeting will be on Tue 12 Aug

Some useful resources online

1. The Galilean Library (named after Galileo) has a Philosophy section which has some ongoing philosophical discussions as well as a collection of essays on various aspects of Philosophy. Some examples are:
• What is Philosophy?
• Doing Philosophy
• Logic
• Philosophy of Science
2. The Philosopher’s Magazine (which you can find in our library) is online and their blog is active and interesting. They also have a whole database of  philosophy quotes and some fascinating games (which we used at open house.)
3. Philosophy Now is another magazine of interest (also in our library).
4. And finally, we learn Why Philosophy is Everybody’s Business.

Attendance at RI Philo dialogue

Here is the latest info regarding the above

Attending	Not attending
Charisse Tay	Du Xuan
Yuyun	Amelia
Claire	Jocelyn
Jiya	Jane
Stella	Han Lyn
	Chrisanda
	Rui Xin
	Tessa
	Amelia

Claire, Jiya, and Stella have yet to confirm their choice of topics.

Please let me know by the end of Mon please.

RI Philo Dialogue

This will happen on Sat Jul 5 at RI.

Details have already been sent via email. So far only Charisse, Stella, Claire, and Du Xuan have said yes. Please email me with your choice of topics latest Sat 21 Jun if you want to attend. You may also want to leave a comment here so others can see what topics you’re aiming for.

Please note:

• no transport will be provided. you will have to make your own way to and from RI.
• light refreshments will be served, but the event will end before lunch.
• students who have not participated in this dialogue before are strongly encouraged to attend.
• If you’ve lost the invitation letter, drop me an email and I’ll send you a copy.

Preparing for UNAS conference

We are meeting this Fri after school just to confirm who is able to attend the conference. Please check your schedules. It’s a whole-day affair on Sat Jul 12.

Those who are facilitating need to get done with their research ASAP. It should be done by now, actually.

We are also having a prep session next Tues 24 Jun. Those attending please try to keep yourselves free. We meet at Pavilion right after school.

Post-MYA meeting

Date: 20 May 2008

Time: 3.30 to 6.30pm

Venue: Elchemi Lab

Topic: UNAS conference

This session is open to those from the Tue group who would like to be involved in the UNAS conference as well.