WRT333-0001: Scientific and Technical Writing

5: Defining Your Philosophy
Given 3/4 | Due 3/11

Definitions: Definitions help us to understand what something means by telling us about what it is and what it is not. Read the materials provided in class from wikipedia (Genus-differentia definition) and from a text on technical definitions. Also, review the LBH, p. 97-98.

Make certain that you understand the notion of genus and difference. Here are some additional rules, also from Wikipedia:

"Certain rules have traditionally been given for this particular type of definition:

1. A definition must set out the essential attributes of the thing defined.
2. Definitions should avoid circularity. To define a horse as 'a member of the species equus' would convey no information whatsoever. For this reason, Locke adds that a definition of a term must not consist of terms which are synonymous with it. This error is known as circulus in definiendo. Note, however, that it is acceptable to define two relative terms in respect of each other. Clearly, we cannot define 'antecedent' without using the term 'consequent', nor conversely.
3. The definition must not be too wide or too narrow. It must be applicable to everything to which the defined term applies (i.e. not miss anything out), and to no other objects (i.e. not include any things to which the defined term would not truly apply).
4. The definition must not be obscure. The purpose of a definition is to explain the meaning of a term which may be obscure or difficult, by the use of terms that are commonly understood and whose meaning is clear. The violation of this rule is known by the Latin term obscurum per obscurius. However, sometimes scientific and philosophical terms are difficult to define without obscurity. (See the definition of Free will in Wikipedia, for instance).
5. A definition should not be negative where it can be positive. We should not define 'wisdom' as the absence of folly, or a healthy thing as whatever is not sick. Sometimes this is unavoidable, however. We cannot define a point except as 'something with no parts', nor blindness except as 'the absence of sight in a creature that is normally sighted'."

Assignment: You are asked to write an extended definition (see handouts from class). The thing you are defining is yourself. You are to write a brief essay (2-4 pages, double-spaced), using the genus-differentia approach, which states a personal philosophy. For purposes of this exercise, restrict yourself to the definition (American Heritage Dictionary), "The system of values by which one lives."

Your statement of personal philosophy should place you in a recognizable group of your fellow human beings, a category or set of categories of your choosing. For example, you might adopt Ray and Anderson's notion, in The Cultural Creatives, of the subcultures which they call Traditionals, Moderns, and Cultural Creatives. (I've distributed a handout that may help define some of these values for these three categories.) You may want to use other categories (political, religious, economic), but choose a set that represent generic groupings.

Your statement should then provide original thinking which differentiates you from others in your self-perceived grouping(s). That is, it should relate to your perceptions of your values as you have received them from your group (via your parents, peers, party, or society at large), but also demonstrate awareness of unique attributes and characteristics that set you off, leading toward a particular you.

Philosophers may argue that such an assignment is impossible, meaning that no one can define an individual. But for our purposes, do what you can to state as clearly as possible what your values are, and what they are not, illustrating as well as you can.

In whatever you write, take great pains to express yourself as simply as possible, using concrete images and words that will help your reader (me, and you in a few years when you pick up this paper and re-read what your younger self once wrote) to understand your vision of yourself. You may want to think of this from a perspective of persuading others to be attracted to or persuaded by your vision. You will use this statement of underlying values as a platform for our next assignment, strategic planning.

The assignment will be evaluated for demonstration of an understanding of enus-differentia, and as an exercise in style and readability. That is, write carefully, working hard to avoid mistakes in wording, sentence structure, and punctuation(!). The assignment is due in class next Monday (10/22).