Write a 2 to 3 page paper based on your experience in which you make a claim about how much your self is influenced by when and where you were born and what value you see in “examining” these features of yourself. Specifically, imagine that you encounter someone like Socrates and he asks you if you’ve critically examined your beliefs and practices. Have you done so? Is there a value in critically examining your life and beliefs? Would all of it survive scrutiny? Are there beliefs you don’t want to subject to philosophical inquiry?Please don’t describe every thought you had; but please do reference insightful moments during your contemplation.IV. Your audience is a general reader.V. Your shared context is the experience of rumination. For example, your first sentence might be something like “After taking 30 minutes to think about…”VI. The problems you are addressing are “Is much of my self greatly influenced by the time and place I was born? And what value is there in critically examining my self and my beliefs?” You can include a sentence much like this after your shared context in order to motivate your paper.VII. Your thesis is yours to design but it should address the problem you described in the previous sentences. The thesis should be the last sentence of your first paragraph. Your thesis will look something like this: “Much/little of who I am is dictated by when and where I was born…especially x and y. While I haven’t critically examined all my beliefs, I do/don’t think there is value in doing so.”Like all assignments, please follow the formatting guidelines listed on the syllabus. This paper will need to be typed and submitted here as a docx or PDF format. I am interested to see how you argue for a thesis and use reasoning and evidence in support of your thesis. Clarity and good reasoning are top priorities: I’m not looking for writing “tricks”, big words, or things intended to impress a reader. This reader is only impressed by clarity in thought, clarity in writing, and good claims supported by good reasons and evidence.
