Philosophical Exercise #1: Conceptual Analysis My primary goal with this course is to get you to think about and answer questions in the way which philosophers do. One broad category of questions which philosophers engage with are analytical questions. So in this exercise, I want you to formulate an analytical question of your own and answer it through conceptual analysis. Requirements Formulating a Question (20 points) – The first step in this assignment is to come up with the analytical question which your analysis will be addressing. The analytical question that you answer should be in the form: “What does it mean when we say ________?” While you have the freedom to choose what concept to fit in that question, there are a few restrictions: 1. The concept cannot be a technical term. Technical terms are defined such that there is no ambiguity when using the word, so performing a conceptual analysis on a technical term would merely be restating the definition. 2. Concepts which pick out concrete physical objects are discouraged. While the proper analysis these concepts can be ambiguous, they do not produce much interesting insight. That said, concepts which are defined as a group of physical things is fine. For example, while the concept “book” is too simple, the concept “library” would be appropriate. 3. Don’t pick terms that are too abstract! Ideally, the concept you choose is something you use/hear regularly and already have a good sense of. Analysis (40 points) – Once you’ve stated the analytical question you will be answering, the next step is to answer it by providing an analysis of the target concept. This means determining the necessary and sufficient conditions for the proper application of your concept. Your analysis should be presented as a numbered list. For each condition, give a brief explanation of it and identify whether the condition is necessary or sufficient. Then, provide ONE example in which your analysis correctly predicts whether your concept can be applied. Counterexamples (40 points) –After you’ve provided your analysis, you must then come up with TWO counterexamples to your analysis. These counterexamples shouldbedifficultcaseswhichsuggestthatyouranalysismaybeinaccurate. One counterexample needs to attempt to show that your analysis is too broad. That is, it is a case where, intuitively, your concept should not apply, but your analysis says that it does. The other needs to attempt to show that your analysis is too narrow. This is a case where, intuitively, your concept should apply, but your analysis says that it does not. These counterexamples should be putative, meaning that you should argue that they DO NOT present a problem for your analysis. This assignment is a philosophical exercise, and as such it will be graded based upon the strength of the analysis and the philosophical insight which it produces. There is no strict word requirement, but I expect a thorough analysis to take around 600 - 900 words. Submission boxes will be made available on iLearn both for submitting topic choices and the finished assignment. You should submit the concept you will be analyzing (and ideally, a rough draft of the necessary and sufficient conditions) by Friday, March 19. The assignment itself is due on Friday, April 9.