English Lit

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Step-By-Step Method (also known as point-by-point method)

  • Introduction
    • Broad overview
    • Identification of topic / narrowing of subject
    • Thesis: Both Plato and Descartes argue that one can achieve philosophical enlightenment in the face of interpretive limitations
  • First point of comparison: Both Plato and Descartes argue that humans are trapped by interpretive and intellectual limitations
    • Descartes (dream hypothesis) – body paragraph #1
    • Plato (prisoners trapped in the cave) – body paragraph #2
    • Explain the similarity between the positions of Plato and Descartes
  • Second point of comparison: Both Plato and Descartes argue that one can nevertheless obtain philosophical certainty, the Truth.
    • Descartes (concept of God / “I think; therefore I am”) – body paragraph # 3
    • Plato (concept of the universal good / allegory of the journey to the higher realm) – paragraph #4
    • Explain the similarity between the positions of the two authors
    • Conclusion
    • In a 1000+ word academic essay, argue that Plato’s “Allegory of the Cave” serves as a philosophical basis for the movie Matrix.