An argument to inquire
This assignment is likely to be quite different from any preconceived notions of argumentation you might have. It is the most introspective assignment you will have all quarter—something with the quality of musing or “thinking out loud”—and its focus is inward, directed towards finding a personal truth, not outward, directed towards an audience that needs convincing. The purpose of inquiry is to determine how you really feel about something and whether or not your feelings are actually justifiable.
From feelings come a position; from a position comes your thesis. The difference lies in the degree of conscious thought and inquiry directed at any given topic; this is a process of crystallization. And like a slow-growing crystal, this process takes some time. Think of your opinion about a topic as your “knee-jerk reaction” to it, think of your position as a tentative but reasoned belief (usually growing from the initial opinion), and think of your thesis as a specific, focused, and defensible written statement of your position.
The goal is to arrive at a thesis statement after careful inquiry. In more common types of argument, the thesis statement will come early in the paper; here, it comes at the end. Your thesis statement for this paper should appear as the very last sentence!
However, inquiry does not always lend itself to quick solutions. You might not be able to arrive at a thesis statement by the end of the essay; you still might not have made up your mind. If that is the case, then your last sentence must state why you have been unable to come to a resolution (and your plans for future inquiry, if any). Please note that this should not be looked upon as a “failure” in inquiry. Inquiries are often composed of a whole series of ongoing questions that can span many years of a thoughtful person’s life. I really do not mind if you cannot arrive at a definite position; you simply need to tell me that. With this assignment, it is really about the journey rather than the destination.
Write a three to five page paper on what it means to be a “cyborg,” showing me the process of your search for truth as you struggle towards a reasoned and specific thesis statement. That may sound like a strange topic to contemplate, but bear with me here. I’m inspired by an argument that Elon Musk once made: in essence, he seemed to be saying that we were so reliant on our cell phones and similar devices for information that we ought not to be considered separately from them in terms of thinking, but rather part of a human-machine system. For example (and these examples are mine, not his), if you rely on your phone to navigate from home to work, if you use your phone to shop online, and if you need your phone to tell you “common knowledge” things like the name of Washington’s state capital and the name of the governor, then you might actually be a cyborg. You wouldn’t be a “Terminator” style cyborg in terms of your physicality, but you could be considered a cyborg mentally because of your dependence on your phone to function. It’s a thought-provoking idea, isn’t it?
With that in mind, you might want to ask some follow-up questions. Does one need some kind of permanent implant to be a cyborg, or does it really count if we’re figuratively inseparable from our phones? How intertwined with technology do we have to be to cross over into “cyborg” territory? And based on the criteria you discover or work out for yourself, would you consider yourself to be a cyborg? Your questions, and your answers, may vary.
Beware that “playing devil’s advocate” can be tricky, requiring genuine effort to see the other side; what you do not want to do is bring up arguments from the other side only to knock them down. For that reason, rhetorical questions are extremely damaging to the act of inquiry. (A rhetorical question is not a sincere question, since the one asking already knows the answer or expects a specific answer from the reader.)
Because this assignment is introspective, not research-driven, no research is required. You may do research if it suits you, and research is often very helpful in inquiry assignments; just remember that all research must be documented. To repeat: research is optional, but documentation of research is not! See the MLA or APA styles as outlined on the Owl website (your choice).
Arguing to inquire is a search for truth; hopefully, you will find a comforting or at least illuminating truth for yourself. Whether you arrive at the destination you suspected or a brand new one, the inquiry will be successful if you ask questions and pursue them with the diligence of someone seeking answers. Please use the first person in this assignment and see me if you have any problems or questions. Also see below for important suggestions!
An argument to inquire
This assignment is likely to be quite different from any preconceived notions of argumentation you might have. It is the most introspective assignment you will have all quarter—something with the quality of musing or “thinking out loud”—and its focus is inward, directed towards finding a personal truth, not outward, directed towards an audience that needs convincing. The purpose of inquiry is to determine how you really feel about something and whether or not your feelings are actually justifiable.
From feelings come a position; from a position comes your thesis. The difference lies in the degree of conscious thought and inquiry directed at any given topic; this is a process of crystallization. And like a slow-growing crystal, this process takes some time. Think of your opinion about a topic as your “knee-jerk reaction” to it, think of your position as a tentative but reasoned belief (usually growing from the initial opinion), and think of your thesis as a specific, focused, and defensible written statement of your position.
The goal is to arrive at a thesis statement after careful inquiry. In more common types of argument, the thesis statement will come early in the paper; here, it comes at the end. Your thesis statement for this paper should appear as the very last sentence!
However, inquiry does not always lend itself to quick solutions. You might not be able to arrive at a thesis statement by the end of the essay; you still might not have made up your mind. If that is the case, then your last sentence must state why you have been unable to come to a resolution (and your plans for future inquiry, if any). Please note that this should not be looked upon as a “failure” in inquiry. Inquiries are often composed of a whole series of ongoing questions that can span many years of a thoughtful person’s life. I really do not mind if you cannot arrive at a definite position; you simply need to tell me that. With this assignment, it is really about the journey rather than the destination.
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